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Pakistan Pakistan turns turns US’ overtly pro-India stance will hurt ‘new ‘new front front line’ line’ Pak:on China of ofwar war on terror terror

2G 2G scam scam claims claims another another As China looms, Clinton tells India to lead in Asia minister: minister: Maran Maran quits quits

Chennai: US Secretary of to Pakistan that confronting ter- State Hillary Clinton told India on Beijing: Against the backdrop of India and the US firming up rorism in all forms is in Islamabad’s Wednesday “it’s time to lead�, urgtheir counter-terrorism cooperation, interest. Indian External Affairs ing New Delhi to take a stronger an official Chinese think tank has Minister S M Krishna responded role across Asia where China is claimed that Washington’s “overtly by saying that terror sanctuaries flexing its muscles, and to bolster pro-India stance� will hurt its overall in Pakistan need to be eliminated support for struggling neighbors goal to fight militancy in Pakistan. for regional peace and stability. Afghanistan and Pakistan. “Not surprisingly, counter-ter- And Krishna welcomed WashingClinton, delivering a speech in rorism is one of the top issues on ton’s decision to suspend the $800- Chennai, said New Delhi should Hillary Clinton’s agenda during her million aid to Islamabad,� it said. exercise political influence to match Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Prime Minister Both the US and India are doing its economic clout -- both of which visit to India,� said the article titled Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday. During her visit, ‘US-South Asia policy’ published the�opposite of what they should Washington sees as potential counshe pushed India on N-liability law and Pakistan on 26/11 trial. have done to help Pakistan fight ter- terweights to Beijing. in the state-run ‘China Daily’.

Written by Fu Xiaoqiang, Direc- rorists,� it said, adding . “We think that America and US officials billed Clinton’s speech tor of the Centre for Counter-ter- “their hard stance as a major address to outline Wash- India share a fundamentally similar rorism Studies at the state-owned could provoke Pakiington’s vision for the US-India col- vision for the future of this region.�

China Institute of Contemporary stanis and help Islamic President Obama, on a visit laboration in the coming century, a International Relations, the article extremists strengthen partnership it hopes will both stabi- to India last November, publicly Union Union Textiles Textiles Minister Minister Dayanidhi Dayanidhi Maran Maran is second is second DMK DMK minister minister to exit to exit expressed concern over growing their base in Pakistan.� backed lize Asia and hedge in China’s growing Manmohan Manmohan government government the in the spectrum spectrum scam. scam. New Delhi’s bid for a per“The US2004 may have its jihadists, US-India cooperation in fields manent seat on the UN Security dominance.

53 53 percent percent of terror of terror plots plots worldwide worldwide since since 2004 involved involved jihadists, reasonsfor the overtly of civil nuclear technologyand and likelike Tehrik-e-Taliban Tehrik-e-Taliban and LeT LeT cadres, cadres, trained trained in Pakistan. in Pakistan. and US officials say they “We are betting that India’s pluralWhile thethe government government andand thetheCouncil showed showed complicity complicity in the in the scam. scam.

New NewDelhi/Chennai: Delhi/Chennai:Union Union While counter-terrorism, much to the de- pro-India stance in its now want the world’s largest de-is is istic democracy will produce results Congress party party diddid notnot comment comment on on Thursday’s Thursday’sturnturnof ofevents events Textiles Textiles Minister Minister Dayanidhi Dayanidhi MaMa- Congress #&$% # $( * !# $ % ! "& % #&$% # $( * !# $ % ! "& % ! % & # ! % & # # ( % ) &% ' ( % # # $ # ( % ) &% ' ( % # # $ South Asia strategy. terment of China’s close strategic mocracy to become a more visible for your citizens and inspire others resistance to to thethe country’s country’s governgovern-ranran Toronto: Toronto: Pakistan Pakistan is is now now thetheresistance bigbig political political development, development, an an likely likely to to impact impact both both thethe shape shape of of resigned resigned Thursday Thursday following following thethe Hillary Clinton with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister # + # # + # % ' % % ' % China ally Pakistan. in facing global challenges. to follow $% # ! & ( % $%& %$ a $% # ! & ( % $%& %$ similar path described of described open- partner ment, theContinued the draconian draconian imposition imposition of ofallegations new new front front in the in the warwar on on terror terror as it as itment, emboldened emboldened opposition opposition impending impending cabinet cabinet shufe shufe and and delideliallegations of of involvement involvement in in the the J.Jayalalithaa in Chennai on Wednesday page “Clinton the US has madeit Clinton Continued on page the 4 the and“too tolerance,â€?

Clinton said.

Sharia lawon law and and the4the waging waging of of warwar2G2G hashas become become asaid new a new safe safe haven haven forfor al- al-Sharia it as it “too as little little tootoo lateâ€? lateâ€? andand sought sought cately cately poised poised relations relations between between spectrum spectrum scam, scam, becoming becoming thetheness against NATO NATO forces forces in Afghanistan. in Afghanistan.second Qaeda, Qaeda, says says thethe Canadian Canadian media media a aagainst resignation of of Home Home Minister Minister P. P. Congress Congress andand thethe DMK. DMK. secondDMK DMKminister ministerafter afterA. A. resignation Because Because of of these these militant militant outďŹ ts outďŹ tsRaja dayday after after thethe country country blacklisted blacklisted thethe Chidambaram, Chidambaram, who who they they alleged alleged 2G2G scam scam continued continued on on page page 4 4 Raja to exit to exit thethe cabinet. cabinet.

Pakistanhashasbecome become“the “themain main Pakistani Pakistani Taliban Taliban andand started started withwith-Pakistan stagingarea areaforforterrorist terroristplots plots drawal drawal from from Afghanistan Afghanistan Tuesday.

Tuesday. staging around thethe world world andand - despite - despite thethe “The “The warwar on on terror terror hashas shifted, shifted,around NYC Public Advocate Bill de BlaUnited States’ States’ assassination assassination of Osaofits Osa- Police has also arrested Sanjeev andand Pakistan Pakistan is its is its new new front front line,� line,�United NewDelhi: Taking forward sio spoke at a City Hall rally Monday mama bininbin Laden in Abbotabad in Abbotabad - a Del-new a newSaxena, once considered close to said said thethe daily daily National National Post.

Post. probe theLaden cash-for-vote scam, to express solidarity with the Indian safe-haven safe-haven forset for al-Qaeda.� “These “These twotwo events events (blacklisting (blacklistinghi police is all toal-Qaeda.� grill Rajya Sabha Singh who allegedly delivered cash American community and to condemn Quoting Quoting a study a study by by the the New New of of thethe Pakistani Pakistani Taliban Taliban andand thethemember Amar Singh on Friday for his to the MPs to vote in favor of the last week’s terror blasts in Mumbai.

America America Foundation, Foundation, the the paper paper start start of withdrawal of withdrawal from from AfghaniAfghani-alleged role in the sensational case. UPA government during trust vote.

He also released a statement, “I am said 53 53 percent percent of of terror terror plots plots stan) stan) encapsulate encapsulate a shift, a shift, notnot only onlysaid billion), billion), believes believes former former chief chief secsecNew New Delhi: Delhi: The The investigaSingh, the then general secretary of The arrests and fresh shocked by the senseless attack on worldwide worldwide since since 2004 2004 involved involved forfor Canada, Canada, butbut forfor all all other other na-na-Samajwadi retary retary of Kerala of Kerala CP CP Nair.

Nair. valuables valuables found foundin in come after Party, is accused of send- tions into the case have Mumbai and offer my sincere condojihadists jihadists trained trained in Pakistan, in Pakistan, comcomtions tions on on thethe front front lines lines of of thethe warwaring As As per per a report, a report, Thursday, Thursday, the the the the secret secret cellars cellars of of bribe money to win over three BJP Delhi police was slammed by Sulences to the victims and their families. pared pared to six toduring six percent percent in Yemen intrust Yemen andandpreme on on terror. terror.

ForFor a number a number of of years, years,lawmakers former former bureaucrat bureaucrat claims claims thatthat thethe Kerala’s Kerala’s famous famous Sreefor the 2008 vote.

Court lastSree week its “calAs we approach the 10th anniversary three three percent percent in Iraq. in Iraq.

Pakistani Pakistani jijithose thoselines lineshave havebeen beenshifting shifting The decision to call Singh for lous� estimated estimated market value value of the of the treatreaPadmanabhaswamy Padmanabhaswamy approach in this case.

Besidesmarket of the Sept. 11 attacks, all New Yorkhadi hadi groups groups have have directed directed 44 44 perpersoutheast, southeast,from fromAfghanistan Afghanistanto toquestioning sures sures unearthed unearthed from from thethe temple temple Temple Temple in in ThiruThirucomes a day after the Amar Singh, police is also expected Only Only ďŹ ve ďŹ ve of the of the sixsix secret cellars cellars ofagainst Padmanabof Padmanabers stand insecret solidarity those cent cent of of the the terror terror plots plots since since then, then, Pakistan,â€?

Pakistan,� thethe paper paper said. said. makes itMP the it the richest richest temple temple in in thethe v a vquestion n aa nn at hn at hpSamajwadi aupr ua m r a m makes arrest of Suhail Hindustani, who al- to Party haswamy haswamy Temple Temple have have been been opened, opened, yielding yielding who commit acts of terrorism.� according according to the to the paper. paper. #&$% # $( * !# $ % ! "& % # & # &#% * # ! $! #&$% # & # &#% * # ! $! #&$% It #&$% # $( * !# $ % ! "& % It said said theSingh, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Tehrik-e-Taliban is islegedly Amar former world. world. could could be be worth worth Rs Rs acted as a liaison between Reoti Raman Singh and BJP MP Gold Gold idols, idols, ornaments ornaments and other other valuables. valuables. & % % ' % & % % ' % Also see page 3and for story and pictures.

WarWar on * on terror terror continued continued on on page page 4 4Ashok Samajwadi ' $% # # * $ % ! %&# $ % ! %&# very very dangerous dangerous asParty its as ' $% # “stated its leader “stated goal� goal� is # isSingh Kerala Kerala treasure treasure continued continued on on page page 4 4 5 ' # $ lakh 5 ' # $ lakh crore crore ($100 ($100 and BJP MPs. Argal.

US lawmakers, community Amar Singh to be grilled by cops in leaders condemn Mumbai blasts cash-for-vote scam Kerala Keralatemple temple

treasure treasurecould couldbe be worth worth$100 $100billion billion

Tristate Community TheSouthAsianTimes.info

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July 23-29, 2011

Will New Jersey see 2 India Day parades this August?

New Jersey: Unless a Superior Court decision rules otherwise, the famed NJ India Day Parade on Oak Tree Road may see two different routes, organized by rival groups.

On June 22, the Edison Township Council granted a parade permit to the newly formed Oak Tree Indian Business Association. The Edison-based group was founded by Bimal Joshi, one of the founders of the parade in 2004 as a member of the regional Federation of Indian Associations (FIA).

Joshi said that a political dispute with former Edison Mayor Jun Choi led to the township permit being transferred five years ago to the Indian Business Association (IBA), a group based in the Iselin section of Woodbridge.

Every year since, including this year, the IBA also received the other two required permits from Woodbridge and the county which oversees the road.

A lawsuit to be filed by week’s end by the Iselin group against the Edison group will deal with more than just the parade, said Frank Fusco, the former’s attorney.

The Iselin group obtained permission from the county on Aug. 23 last year and was granted a permit by Woodbridge on Sept. 21, having applied Sept. 3, four days before the Edison group. The Oak Tree group, however, applied for the Edison permit on Aug. 10, two days after last year’s parade and a week before its rival.

ISI funneled millions to tilt US policy against India on Kashmir Washington: The US has arrested a pro-Pakistan activist and a known face of the Kashmiri separatist movement who allegedly funneled ISI's $4 million for illegal lobbying to influence the American government's position on the Kashmir issue.

With the arrest of Ghulam Nabi Fai, a 62-year-old Pakistani-American Monday, the FBI has exposed Pakistan's two-decade-long covert game plan to influence American policy against India on the Kashmir issue.

Fai, a resident of Fairfax in Virginia, and other accused Zaheer Ahmad, also US citizen believed to be at large in Pakistan, were charged by the FBI Tuesday. Fai is the executive director of the Kashmiri American Council (KAC) that was allegedly run in secret by the Pakistani government.

The FBI alleged that the two men had "participated in a long-term conspiracy to act as agents of the Pakistani government in the US without disclosing their affiliation with the Pakistani government as required by law".

In its 43-page court affidavit, the FBI said Pakistan's military and its powerful InterServices Intelligence (ISI) funneled $4 million over two decades to tilt US' Kashmir policy against India.

The Washington-based KAC long known of lobbying for the self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir organizes annual separatist conferences in the US attended by Kashmiri separatist leaders.

The two men face up to five years in prison if convicted.

The money funneled into the US was also meant for campaign donations to members

Ghulam Nabi Fai, the arrested executive director of Kashmiri American Council, and (right) Dan Burton, anti-India Congressman one of the beneficiaries of Council donations. of Congress and presidential candidates, according to the FBI. The affidavit alleges four Pakistani government handlers directed Fai's US activities. He got in touch with his Pakistani handlers "more than 4,000 times" since June 2008.

His handlers also communicated with Ahmad regularly.

According to the affidavit, a confidential witness told investigators that the money was transferred to Fai through Ahmad.

Another confidential witness told investigators that the ISI created the KAC to "propagandize on behalf of the government of Pakistan with the goal of uniting Kashmir".

Lawmakers and community leaders condemn Mumbai blasts

By Swathi A.K.

glad the US is standing by us.” He also expressed concern at the billions of US aid to India’s neighboring country harboring terrorists.

‘Celebrations’ is a community organization whose mission is to provide support in times of need, awareness and education to and for the Indian American community.

New York: A host of lawmakers and Indian community leaders assembled on the steps of City Hall here on Monday to express solidarity with the Indian American community and to condemn last week’s terror blasts in Mumbai.

Those who spoke at the event organized by Celebrations, founded by Democratic District Leader for the 25th Assembly District Uma Sengupta, included NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, NYC Council Speaker Chris Quinn, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, Assemblymen Bill Scarborough and David Weprin. Community leaders who spoke or were in attendance included NFIA president Lal MotNYC Comptroller John Liu speaking at the 'rally of solidarity' with Indian American community organised by 'Celebrations'.

The South Asian Times Chairman Kamlesh C. Mehta speaking at the event. Attorney Ravi Batra, who emceed the proceedings, is on the right.

wani, NCP party-America head Raj Sharma, AIA president Ranju Batra, SATimes Chairman Kamlesh Mehta and Indian Panorama Editor-Publisher Indrajit S. Saluja. Eminent Attorney Ravi Batra emceed the proceedings.

The event began with singing of Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite ‘Ragupati Raghav Rajaram’ and a minute of silence for the Mumbai blasts victims.

First to speak was John Liu who said, “It is an act of cowardice, hatred worth condemnation and I express my heartfelt sor-

row. I’d like to remind the people who want to spread hatred that they are not going to succeed be it Mumbai, New York or anywhere else in the world.”

Christine Quinn exhorted everyone “to stand up in solidarity in this horrible terror attacks” adding that “the Indian community in New York is large and vibrant and add life to the city and terrorists can’t separate our support to Indian communities.”

Kamlesh Mehta said, “I’m disgusted at the mindless killing of Mumbaikars and as loyalty and friendship cannot be bought I’m

"Celebrations' founder and Democratic District Leader for the 25th Assembly District Uma Sengupta honoring NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn with a scarf.

4

National Community

July 23-29, 2011

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July 23-29, 2011

da Vinci Robot assisted surgery performed for first time in Long Island Procedure used to remove tumor from two lobes of lung Oceanside, NY: A team of surgeons at South Nassau Communities Hospital using the da Vinci® Surgical System recently performed Long Island’s first robotic-assisted bilobectomy lung surgery . The procedure is used to remove cancer that involves two lobes of the lung.

A team of six expert physicians collaborated on the operation: Shahriyour Andaz, MD, FACS, South Nassau’s director of thoracic oncology; Alan Blum, MD, a specialist in pulmonary and critical care; Stewart Fox, MD, FACS, cardiothoracic surgeon; Arun Gupta, MD, internal medicine and specialist in cardiology; Evan Mair, MD, director of body imaging at South Nassau, and Kenneth Richman, MD, an interventional radiologist.

The surgery was performed on a

sions in the chest which were used to insert a small scope and pencil-thin robotic assisted surgical instruments.

They used the instruments first to carefully and precisely dissect major blood vessels that lead from the heart and enter the lung. Then they separated two lobes of the right lung from the bronchus, trachea and the heart, and removed the lung cancer.

The patient’s postoperative recovery was swift and without complications and she was discharged from South Nassau four days later.

Recognized as the world’s most advanced robotic surgical technology, the da Vinci received its name in recognition and honor of Leonardo da Vinci, who invented the first robot and used incomparable accuracy and three-dimensional details to bring his masterpieces to life.

Two Indians killed in New York bus accident

New York: Two Indian tourists were killed and 35 others injured, three of them seriously, when a bus carrying them to Niagara Falls veered off a highway near here.

The bus, which was carrying tourists from Washington DC to Niagara Falls overDr Shahriyour Andaz, South turned due to a blown tire in Nassau’s director of thoracic the woods near Avoca, 55 oncology led the team miles south of Rochester, in New York.

63-year-old female patient who was The front tires were relaan active smoker with a history of tively new, Dan Ronan of the coughing up traces of blood, a comAmerican Bus Association mon symptom of lung cancer. said.

To complete the bilobectomy using Investigations into the the da Vinci, Drs. Andaz and Fox black box inside the bus will needed to make only four small incioffer more clues, about what the engine was doing, how many hours have been on it and the speed it was running, Robert Frost of the New York state police crash reconstrucNew York: The All World Gayatri Pariwar-LI chapter moments for humanity to transition towards a better tion team said. has organized an "Inspirational Talk on 2011-12 - Why is tomorrow. Dr. Pandya will explain the significance of “It will also give us trouble it important ?” by Dr. Pranav Pandya Head of All World these years, and expand upon the ’Vichar Kranti codes to see if there are any Gayatri Pariwar, Shantikunj, Haridwar, India on Monday Abhiyan’ (Though Revolution August 1, 2011 at St. Anthony’s High School Movement) as well as highAuditorium, 275 Wolf Hill Road, South Huntington, NY light the Janmashatabdi (Birth 11746 between 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The All World Centenary) of Pandit Shriram Acharya.

Gayatri Pariwar has placed special emphasis on 2011- Sharma 2012. While there are theories afloat about the destruc- Additionally, a live bhajan tion on the planet in 2012, the AWGP has maintained sandhya will take place during that there will be no such thing but rather these are key this event.

Gayatri Pariwar talk on importance of years 2011-12

Bail raised for Long Island pediatrician facing sex charges Hicksville, NY: A Bethpage, NY pediatrician, Rakesh Punn has been charged with sexually abusing girls, some as young as 11, and compiling notes on his computer on how to molest them.

His previous bail of $3.5 million was raised to $10 million bond or $5 million cash this week because prosecutors said that they fear he would flee since his wife, 24, is in India.

Punn's lawyer said his client cannot post bail because prosecutors have frozen his client's $6 million assets.

Rakesh Punn, 53, a 1983 graduate from Ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College, drugged his victims with sedatives and covered their eyes with gauze or a blindfold during the assaults, according to a 60count indictment filed in a US court, the New York Post reported.

The doctor allegedly told the girls they were undergoing medically necessary examinations.

Punn, who also videotaped or photographed some of his naked victims, wrote about the girls on his computer, along with citations from the Kama Sutra, according to the investigators.

Punn, who was arrested in July 2010 on preliminary charges of videotaping patients, has pleaded not guilty. He faces

5

Rakesh Punn jail term up to seven years if found guilty.

The charges against him include 'promoting a sexual performance by a child', 'possession of a sexual performance by a child', 'possession of a forged instrument', and 'unlawful surveillance'.

Nassau county District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that in 2005, Punn had footage of at least five young girls in his office.

The abuse began in 2007, according to investigators.Punn was also the subject of an insurance fraud investigation.

issues leading up to or during the crash itself," he said.

Meanwhile, New York state police superintendent Joseph D'Amico said, the driver John DiNardo Jr had no history of violations.

The tour bus was operated

by Bedore Tours of North Tonawanda which reportedly had no crashes in the last two years. None of the 36 bus passengers wore a seatbelt but the driver did, police said.

According to news reports, one of the killed in the crash was Sakina Kiazar, 52, of New Delhi, and another Indian woman, 66, whose name was withheld pending notification of her family.

They were seated directly behind the driver.

The driver, John Dinardo, Jr., 58, of Rochester, and the other 34 passengers were injured and taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

6

Tristate Community

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Texas man executed for 9/11 hate crime despite Bangaldeshi victim’s amnesty plea Austin, TX: Mark Stroman, 41, was executed on July 20 for killing a store clerk near Dallas in 2001 in retaliation to the 9/11 attacks.

He was convicted of entering the store where Vasudev Patel was working on Sept 21, 2001, demanding money from the register, and then shooting him in the chest according to Reuters report.He admitted to at least three attacks in the weeks after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York and Washington, all on men he believed to be of Middle Eastern descent.

Stroman was given a lethal injection of drugs and pronounced dead at 8:53 p.m. local time, Michelle Lyons, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman, said.

"The Lord Jesus Christ be with me," Stroman said, according to Lyons. "I am at peace. Hate is going on in this world, and it has to stop. One second of hate will cause a lifetime of pain. I'm still a proud American.

Texas loud, Texas proud. God bless America, God bless everyone." Rais Bhuiyan, a Bangaldeshi American and survivor of one of the attacks had tried to convince courts to stay the execution, saying it was against his religious beliefs as a Muslim. On September 21, 2001, Stroman marched into the service station where Bhuiyan was working and asked him, "Where are you from?" before shooting him in the face at close range.

Though he survived, Rais Bhuiyan is partially blind in his right eye even after multiple surgeries Though he survived, Bhuiyan is partially blind in his right eye even after multiple surgeries.

Over the past several months, Bhuiyan, a devout Muslim, mounted an aggressive campaign to convince Texas authorities to commute Stroman's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has asked the state board of pardons and paroles to make a positive recommendation for clemency to Gov. Rick Perry, and has asked Texas prison administrators for permission to meet face-to-face with Stroman for a victimoffender reconciliation process.After those efforts were met with no response from Texas officials, Bhuiyan filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that his rights as a crime victim to meet with his attacker had been unjustly denied.

Indo-US higher education summit in capital New Delhi: India and United States plan to host a Higher Education Summit in Washington on October 13 to highlight and emphasize the many avenues through which the higher education communities in both nations collaborate.

In a joint statement issued after the conclusion of the second US-India Strategic Dialogue here, both counties said they also plan to expand the higher education dialogue, to be co-chaired by the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal to convene annually, incorporating the private/non-governmental sectors and higher education communities to inform governmentto-government discussions.

According to the statement, as part of the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative (OSI), the two governments announced the publication of their requests for proposals from post-secondary educational institutions that support OSI's goals of strengthening teaching, research, and administration of both U.S. and Indian institu-

tions through university linkages and junior faculty development.

The United States created the Passport to India initiative to encourage an increase in the number of American students studying and interning in India.

The leaders also recognized the great bridge of mutual understanding resulting from the more than 100,000 Indian students studying and interning in the United States.

The India-U.S. S and T Endowment Board, established

by Secretary Clinton and Minister Krishna in 2009, plans to award nearly three million annually to entrepreneurial projects that commercialize technologies to improve health and empower citizens, the statement adds.

The two sides are strongly encouraged by the response to this initiative, which attracted over 380 joint India-U.S. proposals. The Endowment plans to announce the first set of grantees by September 2011.

India and the US also plan to host their third annual Women in Science workshop in September 2011.

Hindus served meat, sue NJ eatery New Jersey: Serving meat-filled samosas to a group of vegetarian Hindus has landed a New Jersey eatery into trouble. They have sued the restaurant and asked for a trip to India. Reportedly, a group of vegetarian Hindus had gone to a restaurant, Moghul Express, to celebrate India Day. After being assured by the restaurant that the dish was vegetarian, the group tasted the samosas and complained about its filling. Following this, the angry Hindus sued the restaurant asking them to pay for their trip to India for a 'cleansing ritual', reports Newser.

Though the restaurant admitted to mixing the order and serving

them meat-filled pastries, a Superior Court threw the case out last year.

Pradip (Peter) Kothari, president of the Indo-American Cultural Society in Edison, supported the court's decision. he told Star-Ledger, "This is hypocrisy of religion and hypocrisy of the law. They can go to a temple here and ask God for forgiveness. God is not going to punish you for doing something unknowingly," reports Newser.

Not deterred by the decision, the group appealed again and has got the go-ahead to sue the restaurant for a 'purification' trip to India.

Missing Indian teenager traced Boston: A 15-year-old Indian boy, who had gone missing in the US last month, has been found and is expected to return to India soon. Lovedeep Singh was found in good condition in California's Merced city. Police authorities said they did not suspect any foul play in Singh's disappearance for almost a month.

Singh, who could not speak English,

was on an educational tour when he disappeared in Los Angeles on June 23.

Police said he may have accidentally become separated from his group.

He is currently in the custody of Los Angeles County child welfare officials and arrangements are being made to send him back to India.

Singh had been wandering in Merced

County and foraging for food. He befriended a taxi driver, who gave him money to take a bus to San Francisco.

Lovedeep stepped off the bus in Merced, thinking he was in San Francisco and somehow made his way to one of Livingston's Sikh temples where other Indians contacted authorities and also Singh's family in India.

Health needs survey of Asian Indians in Houston Houston: The Indian American Cancer Network (IACAN) in partnership with researchers from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center will be conducting a health needs assessment of the Asian Indian community in the Greater Houston area. The first phase of the study will be to interview key community members to get their opinions about major health issues of Asian Indians. Then individuals from the Asian Indian community will be invited to participate in focus groups at which information about their health beliefs, practices, and perceptions about health and cancer will be collected.

All of this data will be used to tailor a health survey instrument that will be administered to at least 400 Asian Indians in the Greater Houston area. The findings from the health needs assessment will provide documentation about barriers that Asian Indians may be facing in accessing health and cancer screening.

The results will help in designing programs that will teach the community about how to obtain and maintain optimal health. Asian Indian men and women, 18 years and older living in Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria or Galveston counties and able to speak and understand English or Hindi can participate. Participants will receive a $20 gift card for participation. For more information or to participate, contact Dr. Beverly Gor

at bjgor@mdanderson.org or call 713-563-2750 or Dr. Mala Pande at mpande@mdanderson.org or call 713-745-5625.

National Community TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 23-29, 2011

Sunita Williams bids adieu to shuttle Washington, DC: As the Atlantis shot into the sky, its tail on fire, Sunita Williams watched with mixed feelings. There was joy for the astronauts on board - they were all her friends - and there was sorrow for the shuttle.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as Nasa, is facing an uncertain future with the end of its manned space travel program.

Atlantis, its 135th mission, is going to be its last. "It was a bitter-sweet moment," Williams told in an interview. Shortly after the launch Sunita left for Tokyo to train for her second mission to the International Space Station, this time on Russian spacecraft Soyuz.

Her last trip to the station was made aboard space shuttle Discovery in 2006.

She came home on the Atlantis.

Williams was the second astronaut of Indian-origin to go to the ISS. The first was Kalpana Chawla, who died with the rest of the crew of shuttle Columbia which was destroyed on re-entry in 2003.

There are now questions about the future of Nasa. It has plans of sending deeper space probes, to bodies beyond the Moon. And there is the ambitious project of sending a manned flight to go

Indian origin astronaut Sunita Williams around Mars. Williams hopes to be on one of them. These will be long duration flights and she has some experience in that already - she stayed at the space station for a record 194 days, that's over six months. "One of the reasons we want to do a long duration flight was to help us understand how humans live in space over a long period of time," she said, adding, "and I am hopeful our experience will help Nasa's future programs."

"I would be definitely interested in these exploration programs," she said.

But questions are being raised about Nasa itself. It is shedding staff and restructuring itself to survive with fears of further cuts in funding. The premier space body is actively looking at working with

the private sector. "I am ever the optimist and I look at this as little bit of slimming down and tightening the belt," Williams said, adding, "Nasa like every government organization has some bureaucracy which can become slimmer."

She is hopeful of the organization making it through these trying times. "I personally look forward to building the Orion," Williams said, adding, "I believe that our country needs to pursue that technology."

Orion is being built for deep space probes and it is currently undergoing tests.

Any personal milestones for herself, for the flight aboard Soyuz in 2012?

She is not sure yet. On her last trip, she had run the marathon aboard the ISS at the same time as the race on the ground.

There are some plans to do something to coincide with the London Olympics in 2012. "We have been joking - how about competing in simultaneous high jump long jumps," she said, laughing.

A jump in zero gravity will be hard to beat. But that's just an idea, and not a bad one at that.

First batch of Sikh advocates graduates Washington, DC: The Sikh Coalition has successfully graduated its first class from the inaugural Sikh Advocate Academy, a groundbreaking initiative designed to create a national network of professionally-trained social justice advocates.

Twelve passionate individuals from around the nation are now equipped with the knowledge and skills to engage credibly with government officials, promote Sikh perspectives in the media and build alliances with organizations outside the Sikh community.

The new local advocates endured a competitive interview process to be selected for the Academy. They are: Simran Kaur (Fresno, CA), Meeta Kaur (Union City, CA), Saranjit Kaur (Fremont, CA), Sahaj Singh (Santa Fe, NM), Sukhsimranjit Singh (Salem, OR), Arvinderpal Singh (Oxford, MS), Manpreet Kaur (Chicago, IL), Manpreet Kaur (Bellaire, TX), Harmeet Kaur (Houston, TX), Kaviraj Singh

7

The first batch on Capitol Hill day visit (Braintree, MA), Charanpreet Singh (Marriottsville, MD), and Gurwinder Singh (New York, NY).

Partners in the government and non-profit communities who spoke on panels during the Academy and trained the advocates were: Eric Treene, Special Counsel on Religious Discrimination, United States Department of Justice; Gene Kim, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus; Jasmeet Ahuja, Former Staff Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Michael Lieberman, Washington Counsel, AntiDefamation League; Priya Murthy, Policy Director, South Asian Americans Leading Together; Shawn

Gaylord, Director of Public Policy, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network; Arsalan Iftikhar, Senior Media Director, ReThink Media; and Mark Reading Smith, Managing Director of DC Office and Rapid Response Director of Security and Rights Collaborative, ReThink Media.

The Sikh Advocate Academy has been made possible through the generous support of the Security & Rights Collaborative, a Proteus Fund Initiative, Open Society Institute - National Security and Human Rights Campaign and through individual contributions from the Sikh American community.

Sonal Shah to step down from White House SocialInnovation Office Washington, DC: Sonal Shah, head of the White House’s Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, is stepping down from her post next month.

Shah, who has led the office’s efforts to promote innovative nonprofits since it was created in 2009, will take a break before deciding what to do next, the White House press office said. Her last day will be August 1.

The three-person social-innovation office was instrumental in setting up the Social Innovation Fund, a new grants program at the Corporation for National and Community Service that aims to help nonprofits expand effective programs.

It also created the White House Council for Community Solutions, a panel of nonprofit leaders and others who are advising the federal government on ways to promote innovative social projects and get people more involved in civic affairs.

This week, the office arranged for almost 50 philanthropists who signed the Giving Pledge advanced

Sonal Shah was appointed by President Obama to the office in 2009

by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to meet with President Obama to discuss ways government and philanthropy can work together to solve problems, the White House spokesman said.

Before joining the White House, Shah was head of global development at Google.org, the search engine’s philanthropic arm. She was a member of the board that advised President Obama during the transition period before he took office.

8

National Community

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Prarthana Dalal wins International BioGENEius Challenge

Prarthana Dalal’s project aims at understanding treatment mechanisms for sickel cell disease Washington, DC: Prarthana Dalal, a senior from Shawnee Mission East High School in Leawood, Kansas, has won the International BioGENEius Challenge, a competition for high school students who demonstrate an exemplary understanding of biotechnology through science research projects.

Fourteen students from the U.S., Canada and Western Australia competed in this year’s event. The Indian American student

will receive an award of $7,500.

Winners were announced June 28 at the 2011 BIO International Convention keynote luncheon. The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry, which attracted an estimated 15,000 attendees from around the world.

The convention gathers the biggest names in biotech, offers key networking and partnering opportunities and provides insights and inspiration on the major trends affecting the industry.

Second place winner Nathan Kondamuri from Munster High School in Dyer, Indiana, received a $5,000 award for his project titled, “A Novel Biofuel Cell Based on Direct Electron Transfer-Type Bioelectrocatalysis Incorporating the Efficient System of Photophosphorylation.”

Dalal’s project was titled, “Modeling of human non-deletional hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) conditions in β-globin locus transgenic mouse models: The -175 (T to C) and -195 (C to G) A-gamma globin gene point mutations.”

She looked at hemoglobin genetics and how sequence changes can effect fetal hemoglobin production in mouse models, which can be used to understand treatment mechanisms for sickle cell disease.

Delhi High Court allows extradition of NRI fugitive to US New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday paved the way for non-resident Indian (NRI) fugitive Avtar Singh Grewal's extradition to the US to face trial for allegedly killing his estranged wife in 2007.

The court dismissed his petition challenging a trial court's decision to allow his extradition.

The division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Manmohan Singh said: 'We find no infirmity or illegality in the order passed by the ACMM (additional chief metropolitan magistrate).'

Grewal, 37, challenged a trial court's inquiry report which held that there was prima facie sufficient evidence for his extradition to the US. The fugitive, then working as manager with a firm at Vancouver in Canada, allegedly trav-

eled to Phoenix in the US to meet his estranged wife Navneet Kaur and flew out of that country on a one-way ticket after killing her March 29, 2007.

'Once it is clear, prima facie, that the offence for which the petitioner has been charged constitutes murder under the Indian law, there is no question of invoking article 8 of the Extradition Treaty requiring the government of India to refuse extradition,' said the bench.

The court allowed the plea of A.K. Vali and Naveen K. Matta, special prosecutors of the external affairs ministry, that the offence allegedly committed by the fugitive was an extraditable crime.

Grewal was arrested on arrival at Delhi airport March 31, 2007 following an alert sounded by the Interpol.

Indian-origin girls get top honors at Google Science Fair Boston: Two Indian-origin girls have emerged winners at Google's inaugural Science Fair, impressing thousands at the internet giant's California headquarters with their projects on ways to improve ovarian cancer treatment and bettering air quality for the benefit of asthma patients.

The top three winners out of 15 finalists at the fair were all girls, Shree Bose, Naomi Shah and Lauren Hodge, prompting Google to laud "girl power" at the fair.

"The unifying elements of all three young women were their intellectual curiosity, their tenaciousness and their ambition to use science to find solutions to big problems," Cristin Frodella from Google's Education Team said in a blog post. The finalists examined complex problems and found simple solutions that can be implemented by the general public--like changing cooking habits or removing toxins from homes, Frodella said. Bose, who won in the 17-18 age group was also named the 'Grand Prize' winner, taking home a 50,000 dollar scholarship and an internship opportunity at the prestigious Geneva-based CERN institute.

Bose impressed judges, more than 1,000 local attendees as well as Googlers with her project to "improve ovarian cancer treatment for patients when they have built up a resistance to certain chemotherapy drugs".

Apart from the scholarship, Bose also won

(L to R): Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose and Naomi Shah a trip to the Galapagos Islands with a National Geographic Explorer.

Terming Bose's work as "groundbreaking discovery which could have wider implications for cancer research," Google said she came up with complex solutions that can be addressed in labs by doctors and researchers.

Shah won in the 15-16 age group for her "endeavor to prove that making changes to indoor environments that improve indoor air quality can reduce people's reliance on asthma medications".

Hodge was named winner in the 13-14 age group for studying the effect of different marinades on the level of potentially harmful carcinogens in grilled chicken.

Shah and Hodge each received 25,000 dollar scholarships and internships at Google and toy company LEGO. All three were awarded lifetime digital subscriptions to science magazine Scientific American.

India, US sign accord to secure their cyber spaces New Delhi: India and the US Tuesday signed an accord that will enable them to jointly secure their cyber spaces amid increasing attacks on sensitive records from hostile elements, including terrorists.

The accord on cyber security cooperation was signed between the Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERT-IN and US-CERT) the lead agencies in the respective countries to respond to virtual attacks.

It enables the two countries to exchange information on cyber strikes, cooperate on technology and exchange information on cyber security policy, capacity building and exchange of experts, according to a joint statement issued after talks between visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.

The accord was signed by R. Chandrashekhar, secretary, India Department of Information Technology, and Jane Holl Lute, deputy secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security

Jane Holl Lute, Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and R. Chandrashekhar, Secretary, Department of Information Technology prepare to sign the cybersecurity agreement.

(DHS).

The two nations would now be able to form a mutual response to cyber security incidents like in case any sensitive website was hacked or virus by terrorists or other hostile groups attacked.

As per the accord, the two countries will now be able to share expertise in artifact analysis like studying traces of virus and worm, network traffic analysis and exchange

of information.

"The agreement helps fulfill the joint commitment of both nations to advancing global security and countering terrorism," a statement from the US embassy said.

Though attacks from hackers - professional or amateur - can come from anywhere in the world, cyber onslaughts on Indian websites have been more frequent from China and Pakistani hackers peek-

ing into Indias sensitive business, security and strategic records.

The nature of cyber attacks becomes more complex due to rapid changes hackers put in place.

A report in the US-based Defence Systems magazine has found that there were 25 million new strains of malware created in 2009.

That equals a new strain of malware every 0.79 seconds.

The report underlines how the current cyber threat environment is dramatically changing and becoming more challenging as the clock ticks.

The CERT-IN functions under the ministry of communications and IT and its primary role is to raise security awareness among Indias cyber community and to provide technical assistance and advice them to recover from computer security incidents.

The US-CERT is the operational arm of the National Cyber Security Division in the Department of Homeland Security.

US Affairs TheSouthAsianTimes.info

9

July 23-29, 2011

Leaders push for broad budget deal as debt deadline looms Washington: President Obama and Congressional leaders, spurred by a positive response to a new Senate deficit-cutting plan, sought on Wednesday to resurrect a broad budget agreement as House members condemned a fall-back proposal taking shape in the Senate.

Officials in both parties said discussions had accelerated about a compromise tied to a debt limit increase that would cut spending, reshape entitlement programs like Medicare and call for a future tax overhaul — a package that would slice trillions of dollars from projected deficits over the next decade. The talks picked up after a bipartisan group of senators unveiled their deficit plan on Tuesday, with House Republicans signaling that they might now be open to a deal that would raise more money for deficit reduction by closing tax loopholes and eliminating

deductions while also reducing tax rates.

The president summoned leaders of both parties to separate White House sessions, and the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, indicated for the first time that the president might be open to accepting a short-term increase in the federal debt ceiling if the two sides were in agreement on the contours of a deal.

“There is still time to do something significant if all parties are willing to compromise, because the parameters of what that might look like are well known, especially to the participants in the negotiations the president oversaw last week,” Mr. Carney said.

The search for a solution intensified as House Republicans made clear that they were in no mood to accept a proposal being developed by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, who has

advocated a procedural maneuver to allow a debt increase to clear Congress without Republican votes.

The four top House leaders — Speaker John A. BoehnerEric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican; Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader; and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat — met privately Wednesday and, according to officials, reviewed problems with the McConnell plan.

Putting it in place would require some House Republicans to back the idea, but the concept has met with mounting resistance in the House even as a last-ditch effort.

Senate leaders were still planning to go forward with consideration of the McConnell fallback after considering the “cap, cut and balance” plan that cleared the House on Tuesday but has no chance of passing the Senate, where Democratic leaders assailed it

‘Communities have right to ban mosques’ New York: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Sunday that communities have a right to ban Islamic mosques.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," the former Godfather's Pizza CEO said protests and legal challenges to a planned mosque in Tennessee city are an example of local residents pushing back.

Cain said his view doesn't amount to religious discrimination because he says Muslims are trying to inject Shariah law into the US. Shariah is a set of core principles that most Muslims recognize and a series of rulings from religious scholars. It covers many areas of life and different sects have different versions and interpretations of the code.

Asked if his view could lead any community to stand up in opposition to a proposed mosque, Cain replied, "They could say that." He pointed to opposition to the planned mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn., as an example.

"Let's go back to the fundamental issue that the people are basically saying that they are objecting to," Cain said. "They are objecting to the fact that Islam is both religion and (a) set of laws, Shariah law. That's the difference between any one of our other traditional religions where it's just about religious purposes.

Cain's comments were denounced as "unconstitutional and un-American" by a spokesman for the Washington-

based Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"It's clear that Herman Cain has decided that he will score political points every time he bashes the Muslim community or its constitutional rights," council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said in a phone interview.

Cain previously stirred controversy by saying that he would not want a Muslim bent on killing Americans in his administration. Campaigning in Murfreesboro last week, Cain sided with mosque opponents.

In Murfreesboro, the future new mosque has been the subject of protests and counter-protests in the city about 35 miles southeast of Nashville.Opponents have used the hearings to argue that the mosque is part of a plot to expand Islamic extremism in the U.S.

on Wednesday.

“The Republican scheme to cap, cut and kill Medicare is dead on arrival in the Senate,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate.

“Their plan, which passed the House last night on a virtual party-line vote, would wreak havoc on our country’s seniors, the middle class, military preparedness and our standing in the world.”

Though negotiations over a more comprehensive deal had faltered, Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner have continued to talk, including at a private White House meeting Sunday that was also attended by Mr. Cantor. Both Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor also said positive things about the deficit plan crafted by the socalled Gang of Six, which includes three Senate Republican and three Senate Democrats.

TSA orders airport body scanners to nix naked image Washington: New software for screening travelers at U.S. airports will do away with naked images, addressing a major public concern, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Wednesday.

After complaints from travelers the TSA earlier this year began testing at four airports software for the full-body scanners that instead uses a generic body outline and highlights the area where any anomaly is detected, eliminating the actual image of the passenger.

TSA has increasingly relied on the full-body scanners after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a transatlantic flight in December 2009. The bomb failed to fully explode but set off a rush to upgrade security

to detect explosives underneath clothing.

Software upgrades to the 241 millimeter wave body-scanning machines, made by L-3 Communications, will be deployed over the next several months in the 40 airports where they are used, the TSA said.

"This software upgrade enables us to continue providing a high level of security through advanced imaging technology screening, while improving the passenger experience at checkpoints," said TSA Administrator John Pistole.

Panel recommends full coverage for contraception Washington: A leading medical advisory panel recommended on Tuesday that all insurers be required to cover contraceptives for women free of charge as one of several preventive services under the new health care law.

Obama administration officials said that they were inclined to accept the panel’s advice and that the new requirements could take effect for many plans at the beginning of 2013. The administration signaled its intentions in January when Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, unveiled a 10-year program to improve the nation’s health.

One goal was to “increase the proportion of health insurance plans that cover contraceptive supplies and services.”

Administration officials, who say they hope to act on the recommendations by August 1, are receptive to the idea of removing cost as a barrier to birth control — a longtime goal of advocates for women’s rights and experts on women’s health.

But the recommendations immediately reignited debate over the government’s role in reproductive health. Women’s groups and medical professionals applauded the recommendations while the Roman Catholic Church raised strenuous objections.

The recommendations came in a report submitted to Ms. Sebelius by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. The new health care law says insurers must cover “preventive health services” and cannot charge for them. Ms. Sebelius will decide on a minimum package of essential health benefits, and her decision will not require fur-

ther action by Congress.

The panel said insurers should be forbidden to charge copayments for contraceptives and other preventive services because even small charges could deter their use. The recommendation would not help women without insurance.

The administration asked the Institute of Medicine, a nonpartisan, nongovernmental arm of the National Academy of Sciences, to help identify the specific services that must be covered for women.

“This report is historic,” Ms. Sebelius said on Tuesday in accepting the document. “Before today, guidelines regarding women’s health and preventive care did not exist. These recommendations are based on science and existing literature.” In addition to contraceptive services for women, the panel recommended that the government require health plans to cover screening to detect domestic violence; screening for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS; and counseling and equipment to promote breastfeeding, including the free rental of breast pumps.

The panel also said all insurers should be required to cover screening for gestational diabetes in pregnant women; DNA testing for the human papillomavirus as part of cervical cancer screening; and annual preventive-care visits. Such visits could include prenatal care and preconception care, to make sure women are healthy when they become pregnant.

Defending its recommendations on contraceptive coverage, the panel said that nearly half of all pregnancies in the United

States were unintended, and that about 40 percent of unintended pregnancies ended in abortion. Thus, it said, greater use of contraception would reduce the rates of unintended pregnancy, teenage pregnancy and abortion.

The panel’s report says that “contraception is highly costeffective,” averting unintended pregnancies that would be far more expensive than contraception.

To reduce unintended pregnancies, the panel said, insurers should cover the full range of contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, as well as sterilization procedures and “education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.”

This recommendation would require coverage of emergency contraceptives including pills like ella and Plan B, panel members said.

10

Hillary Clinton Visit to India

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Clinton pitches for more military sales to India New Delhi: With their strategic proximity growing in recent years, the US Tuesday pitched for more military sales to India and improved sharing of defence technologies.

'On the issue of defence technologies, the United States expects to continue developing and selling the world's most competitive products.

We view these sales as important on their own terms, but also as a means to facilitate the work that the Indian and American militaries can do together -- whether patrolling the seas or providing relief to the victims of natural disasters,' US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on a three-day visit to India, said here.

She was addressing a joint press conference with her counterpart S.M. Krishna after they held their second strategic dialogue here.

The joint statement issued by the two sides after the talks also spoke on the issue of US military sales and sharing of defence technologies with India.

'The two sides noted India's defence orders from U.S. companies have reached a cumulative value of over $8 billion in the last decade.

The two sides noted that these sales reflect strengthened cooperation.

Both sides also affirmed their desire to strengthen cooperation through technology transfer, and joint research, development, and production of defence items,' it said.

This was also a clear indication that the US had put behind it the disappointment of two American arms

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with her counterpart S M Krishna ahead of joint press conference majors - Boeing and Lockheed Martin - losing out in the race for a $10.4 billion Indian Air Force order for 126 combat jets.

India has in the last decade bought eight Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for $2.1 billion and is expected to order four more of these planes for its navy. It has also bought six C-130J Super Hercules transporters for $1.2 billion and 10 C-17 heavy lift cargo planes for $4.1 billion along with their weapon suites. This apart it has bought a troop carrier, renamed INS Jalashwa, for amphibious operations and will soon be placing an order for 140 M777 artillery guns.

US firms are also in competition for India's requirement of 22 attack helicopters 15 heavylift cargo helicopters.

However, the sticking point in the military sales is the restriction on the supply of high-end systems, as India is yet to sign agreements such

as the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA).

India is also not satisfied with the progress made by the US in lifting sanctions on its defence and space organizations by removing them from the restrictive entity list, a move that was announced by US President Barack Obama during his visit last November.

However, Clinton said the two sides had 'made progress' on matters of security cooperation during this round of strategic dialogue, which was initiated last year. 'But we can do more to strengthen the security of our nations and this region as a whole,' she said.

The secretary noted that maritime security was also 'a major concern, as we seek to protect sea lanes, combat piracy, and defend freedom of navigation' and applauded India's leadership in fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean region, including its decision last week to chair the 2012 plenary of the piracy contact group operating off the Somalia coast.

The two nations also agreed to continue consultations on maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean region in existing forums such as the defence policy group and its appropriate sub-groups. They also agreed to exchange views on promoting regional security architecture that enhances maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.

‌ asks India to lower trade barriers New Delhi: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday urged India to lower investment barriers even as the two countries agreed to re-open negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty.

'Each of our countries can do more to reduce barriers, open our markets, and find new opportunities for economic partnership,' Clinton, who is on a three-day visit to the country, said.

The US-India trade in 2010 increased by 30 percent to $48.7 billion with the balance of trade in India's favor to the tune of over $10 billion.

'Taking these steps is in our mutual interest. We can improve millions of lives and increase both of our nations' economic competitiveness,' Clinton said at the end of the second edition of the India-US Strategic Dialogue here.

According to Clinton, the trade and investment ties between both countries are strong. She also welcomed growing Indian investment in the US. 'The United States is proud to be one of India's largest trading partners and direct investor, and we welcome India's investment in the United States, which is rapidly on the rise.'

According to a joint statement

released by the two governments, negotiations for the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) would resume in August in Washington D.C. 'A BIT would enhance transparency and predictability for investors, and support economic growth and job creation in both countries,' the statement said.

The two governments will also meet in October to discuss ways of expanding trade ties through the US-India Trade Policy Forum.

Some of the important announcements, made during Clinton's visit, pertaining to US-India economic ties include: - Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement signed, allowing Indian companies to supply components to US aerospace sector - The US government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) intends to infuse up to $820 million for renewable energy sector projects in 2011 - The Export-Import bank of the United States to step up funding in the area of clean energy and infrastructure development. Two loans worth $25 million announced for procuring solar equipment - US Trade and Development agency to fund feasibility studies with combine worth $1.4 million for setting up two solar power plants.

Our bonds outweigh differences: Clinton

CLINTON INDIA VISIT IN PICTURES Hillary Clinton kicked off her visit to Delhi over breakfast with National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, along with ChargĂŠ d'Affaires Ambassador Peter Burleigh and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. U.S. Assistant Secretary Robert Blake and Indian Ambassador Ranjan Mathai (not pictured) also attended.

Indian National Congress Party President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi greets Clinton at her residence in New Delhi on July 19, 2011

BJP Party leader Sushma Swaraj greets Hillary Clinton at her residence in New Delhi, July 19, 2011

Hillary Clinton Delivering remarks on the Working Women's Forum in Chennai Chennai: With the strategic dia- be written in India and Asia.

'President Obama made a state logue bringing out divergent perceptions on some aspects of the civilian visit last year, and I made two visits nuclear deal and Afghanistan, US in the last two years, why one may Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ask? It is because we understand Wednesday underlined that her that much of the history of 21st cencountry's bonds with India tury will be written in Asia,' she 'outweigh differences' and promised said.

'We have great commitment... as to build more trust in the growing the president told the Indian parliarelationship.

'We will build trust and do more to ment, the relationship between India bring us together. We are betting on and the US will be a defining relaIndia's future... we have watched the tionship,' Clinton added. progress of India with great admira'There are those who raise question,' Clinton, the first US secretary tions about the relationship between of state to visit Chennai, told stu- our two countries. I understand that dents at the Anna Centenary Library we are countries of different history here. and there will be differences, as Amplifying on New Delhi's grow- between two friends...(however) our ing global role, Clinton stressed that differences are outweighed by the that the history of 21st century will bonds,' she added.

India Newswire TheSouthAsianTimes.info

11

July 23-29, 2011

Mumbai blasts: detonators remain mystery New Delhi/Mumbai: Investigators looking into the July 13 Mumbai bombings have extended their probe to various parts of the country as they intensify the hunt for clues leading to those behind the terror attack, informed sources said.

Seven days after the triple blasts, which killed 19 and injured 129, sources close to the investigation said forensic sleuths were also trying to decipher the exact make of the detonators used to trigger the bombs made of ammonium nitrate, fuel oil (ANFO) and ball bearings.

What is known is that the blasts were triggered by using timers and not remote controlled devices. "But what timer device it was is still not known. It could be clock timers, it could be mobile phones alarms, it could be any other timer device, mechanical, chemical or digital," said a home ministry source in

Sources familiar with the probe process said the identification of the timer device was crucial.

New Delhi. Sources familiar with the probe process said the identification of the timer device was crucial because it would help investigators establish a pattern and trace

similarities, if any, to previous terror attacks in India.

This would give the investigation a definite angle and maybe point to the outfit behind the blasts. The

Mumbai blast sites bustle again

Zaveri Bazar in Mumbai.

Mumbai: "Overall positive". That's what market operators say about the mood in all the three places in Mumbai, including diamond and gold jewelry hubs, where serial terror blasts killed 20 people and injured scores a week ago.

Bombs went off in quick succession on the evening of July 13 at the diamond centre of Opera House, gold hub of Zaveri Bazar and the commercial part of Dadar West. But these are once again bustling with business.

"We have traffic restrictions.

Security checks are a lot stricter but nobody objects. Business is near normal but it will take some time for the situation to fully normalize," Asim Shah of HB Shah Pvt Ltd, a leading diamond exporter, said.

Asim lamented that the menace of hawkers, which should have been solved "years ago", has been finally resolved. "We hope the authorities do not permit them to return and set up illegal stalls in the vicinity, posing a security risk," he said. Krishna Verlekar, who has a workshop in the heart of Zaveri Bazar, said regular cus-

tomers have become more cautious after July 13.

"Now, they call us and want to know if there are huge crowds, police security, and so on before reaching here‌This will be the situation for a few more weeks," Verlekar said.

One positive outcome of the terror attack is that the diamond market has been finally spurred on to move to the new Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex. The swank new business district is ideally located midway between the western suburb of Bandra and the eastern suburb of Kurla, where even the US Consulate and British Deputy High Commission buildings have come up.

"Despite the many constraints of operating from there, we have decided to move out of Panchratna Building after Diwali," Asim said.

Another prominent diamond and gold jewelery businessman, Girish Shah, who sits at Opera House, expressed similar sentiments. "The workers shall be the worst hit, travelling from far off suburbs. But we have to move out," he said.

homegrown Islamist militant outfit, the Indian Mujahideen, has used timer devices of various kinds to trigger blasts in many Indian cities, an expert said.

Though authorities have refrained from naming any terror outfit, sources told IANS that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had raided various places for suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives.

They have also questioned some arrested activists of the outfit in jails in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

An NIA team questioned Jalees Ansari, convicted for his alleged role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, in an Ajmer jail. Ansari, an expert in handling explosives, is serving a life term. The sources said he could have possibly helped

the perpetrators to make the bombs. An NIA team is also likely to visit Bihar where police have taken into custody two suspected operatives of the Harkat ul Jehade-Islami (HuJI) Riyaz ul Sarkar and Aftab Alam.

The sources said the investigators with the help of Gujarat police have accessed a yahoomail account of Indian Mujahideen operative Danish Riyaz, a key accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts, arrested June 21 from Vadodara.

Riyaz, originally from Ranchi in Jharkhand, is being interrogated afresh for a possible link to the Mumbai blasts, sources in the Gujarat police said. They alleged that email exchanges of Riyaz with his accomplices, including Haroon, who was picked up from Kolkata Sunday, have revealed that the Indian Mujahideen was recruiting youth for training.

India has risen above blame game: Pak media Islamabad: It is a positive sign that India has risen above the blame game and New Delhi has decided to go ahead with the foreign ministers' talks despite the Mumbai blasts, a leading Pakistani daily said.

An editorial in the Dawn said: "As tragic as Wednesday`s triple blasts in Mumbai were, no headway has as yet been made into identifying the perpetrators."

"What is welcome though is that the Indian government has ignored the kneejerk reactions of some of the hawks in the opposition and the media who have “What is welcome is that the Indian government has pointed a finger of blame at Pakistan ignored the knee-jerk reactions of some of the hawks in the without evidence, and has decided to go opposition post-Mumbai blast,� says Dawn. ahead with the foreign ministers' talks "Following the earlier Mumbai attacks, Pakistanscheduled later this month."

The editorial said that in an atmosphere where India relations had hit a new low as Pakistan-based terrorism has often derailed the peace process, "it militants were accused of masterminding the atrocis a positive sign that India has risen above the ity," Dawn noted.

"It took a meeting between prime ministers blame game".

It noted that the shift in the Indian policy was Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh in the highlighted by Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Bhutanese capital of Thimphu on the sidelines of a Rao, who has said that Pakistan had `altered' its SAARC summit in April 2010 to melt the ice," it added. stance on terrorism.

Focus shifts to domestic terrorism Mumbai: Indian police are focusing on a domestic terror outfit as they search for suspects in last week's blasts here in India's financial capital, which killed 20 and injured 131, said a senior investigator.

In particular, investigators are examining similarities between the explosives used in Mumbai last week and previous attacks in India for which the Indian Mujahideen, an Indian Islamist terrorist group, claimed responsibility.

Indian officials have said in the past that the Indian Mujahideen is directed by Lashkar-eTaiba, the Pakistani militant group that sent 10 gunmen to carry out the Mumbai attacks in 2008 and have masterminded a number of other attacks in India.No group has claimed responsibility for last week's attacks. But investigators say the Mumbai blasts bear hallmarks of previous Indian

Mujahideen strikes, including an unexploded bomb found at the Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi before last year's Commonwealth Games, a blast in Varanasi in northern India in December, and a bomb explosion outside the Delhi High Court in May. In all cases the bombs used ammonium nitrate and a digital timer.

Deven Bharti, additional commissioner of police in Mumbai, who is involved in the investigation, said in an interview that it is difficult to pinpoint who is responsible for the Mumbai attacks. Police are reviewing closed-circuit-television footage recovered from the blast sites.

Police officials say Indian Mujahideen has been active since about 2003, but became prominent after it carried out serial blasts in the cities of Jaipur and Ahmedabad in 2008 that killed scores of people.

12

India Newswire

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Mumbaikars feel helpless, resentful

A Mumbai blast vicitm shows the photo of his relative killed in the terror attack.

Mumbai: Exactly a week after their city was rocked by triple blasts, Mumbaikars seemed resigned to living under the shadow of terror.

India's financial capital has been repeatedly attacked in the past 18 years, with 12 major strikes leaving nearly 700 dead and several thousand injured.

"Mumbai was shocked only the first time in the March 1993 blasts.

It was unprecedented. But after so many terror attacks, now there is no shock or anger. There is regret at how the rulers of the city, state and country continue to exploit Mumbaikars for their ability to make money and drive the country's economic engines," Rajeev Jain, a businessman from Juhu, was quoted as saying.

In all instances, the attacks have been carried out with precision - targeting Mumbai's transport lifeline or its business hubs where transactions

worth billions of rupees are carried out daily. Besides providing a living to several millions of citizens, they spell huge income by way of taxes and levies to the exchequer.

Terror attacks have occurred in other places in Maharashtra like Thane, Nashik, Malegaon and Pune in the past five to six years. The latest serial bombings July 13 have left 20 dead and at least 128 in hospitals with injuries.

Like in the past, this time too, Mumbai, almost by force of habit, went back to normalcy within hours.

A week after the triple blasts at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar West, Mumbai was its usual bustling self this week. "Barring the casual odd reference, it has gone practically unnoticed, like a bad dream," said Kiran S.V., an executive and mother of three who works with a private company in Worli, who travels by suburban trains daily.

Raj Thackeray attacks north Indian migrants Mumbai: For the second time in one week, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray targeted north Indians and the migrant population and demanded a check on their influx into Mumbai.

"People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are involved in nearly 70-80 percent of all crimes committed in the city," Raj Thackeray alleged at a press conference here. Daily 48 trains come here from those two states alone, he added.

From the security point of view, he demanded that the authorities should pay attention to the migrants' influx in Mumbai and adjacent Thane district.

The MNS chief also lashed out at state Samajwadi Party chief Abu Asim Azmi for expressing sympathy with the 13/7 triple blast suspect, Faiz Usmani, who died in hospital Sunday owing to medical complications.

"What is wrong if the police investigated Usmani, who had met a terrorist in jail several times? Why does Azmi always support people with criminal backgrounds?" asked Raj Thackeray.

If terrorism has to be stopped in Mumbai, it was imperative to monitor the people coming to the city

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray. from outside, he said, adding that if Azmi continues to sympathize with such elements, then the state government should also inquire against him.

Reacting sharply, Azmi demanded action against the MNS chief for painting all people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar with the same brush.

PwC to advise on Mumbai CCTV project Mumbai: International consulting major Price waterhouse Coopers (PwC) would advise the Maharashtra government on its anti-terror project of installing CCTV cameras across Mumbai, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said.

"PWC is working on the project and is in the process of inviting tenders/bids for

this (CCTV) project," Chavan told reporters here.

He declined to answer queries whether the project got delayed for over two years allegedly due to bickering within the ruling CongressNationalist Congress Party alliance.

After the Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai terror attack, the government announced plans

to install 5,000 CCTVs in the city.

Chavan said that a team of Mumbai Police officials had gone to New Delhi and Haryana to study similar CCTV projects there.

A team from London had visited the city and now a Mumbai police team will go there to "see how the system there is working", he said.

India's youngest ministry to end open defecation New Delhi: India's youngest ministry has the enormous task of ridding rural areas of open defecation and unsafe drinking water with about 245 million people in the country still without access to sanitation facilities and nearly 76 million still not getting adequate safe drinking water.

The creation of a Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is expected to accelerate efforts to provide access to adequate potable water in 150,000 rural habitations and access to sanitation to about 30 percent of 833 million rural population lacking these basic amenities, officials said.

Drinking water and sanitation earlier constituted a department of the Ministry of Rural Development. The new ministry will deal with water supply, sewage, drainage and sanitation in rural areas.

After Gurudas Kamat failed to take the responsibility of the new ministry in last week's cabinet jig, its charge has been given to Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. Officials of the new ministry are happy about their elevated status.

As a department, it had a huge budget of Rs.11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion) this fiscal.

"We learnt about the decision of the new ministry only after the cabinet reshuffle," a senior official said. The officials said that

The creation of a Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is expected to provide access to adequate potable water in 150,000 rural habitations and access to sanitation to 30 percent of 833 million rural population. drinking water in both urban and rural areas should come under the new ministry to give it a better profile and to tackle water management in an integrated manner.

The government is keen that by the end of the 12th five-year plan (2012-17), at least 55 percent of rural households should be provided with piped water, and at least 35

percent should have household connections. Rural drinking water is one of the six components of Bharat Nirman, an initiative of the government to build the rural infrastructure since 2005.

The program aims to cover rural habitations not having drinking water facilities and to address problems related to water

quality such as contamination of arsenic and flouride.

A World Bank study last year said that India loses almost $53.8 billion or 6.4 percent of its GDP through hygiene-related diseases, lost productivity and other factors stemming from poor sanitation.

Only about 366 million people - around a third of population - had access to proper sanitation in 2008, according to a UN study.

According to a UNICEF report, combined effects of inadequate sanitation, unsafe water supply and poor hygiene were responsible for 88 percent of childhood fatalities from diarrhea in the country.

Poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water cause intestinal worm infections, which lead to malnutrition, anemia and retarded growth among children.

The report said about 638 million people in India defecate in the open, which is about 55 percent of the total population defecating in the open in the world.

India's first nationwide program of rural sanitation, the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) was launched in 1986.

Another program, Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), was launched in 1999 with the aim of ending open defecation.

14

India Newswire

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Cash-for-votes: Amar Singh to be probed New Delhi: Former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh was likely to be interrogated over the 2008 cash-for-votes controversy in parliament, police sources said.

Amar Singh is a Rajya Sabha MP. Rajya Sabha officials, however, denied that house Chairman Hamid Ansari had given permission for Amar Singh's questioning, saying that no such request had been received.

They said that since no request had been received, there was no question of permission being granted by the chairman. The officials also added that there may not be a need for permission for Amar Singh's questioning as the matter did not relate to

Amar Singh's former aide, Sanjeev Saxena alleged that the then Samajwadi Party leader provided Rs.1 crore for getting the support of three BJP MPs in a trust vote in 2008.

his actions in the Rajya Sabha.

Amar Singh's former aide, Sanjeev Saxena, arrested by Delhi Police, alleged that the then Samajwadi Party leader had provided Rs.1 crore for getting the support of three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs in a trust vote in 2008.

Alleged middleman Suhail Hindustani, the second accused under arrest, also levelled the same allegations against Amar Singh, saying he was the "main" man behind the scandal.

Hindustani also accused Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and other Congress leaders of involvement. Bags filled with currency notes were shown in the Lok Sabha July 22,

2008, minutes before a trust vote was to take place.

Hindustani was called to a Delhi Police office for questioning and later arrested. Saxena is understood to have told police that Amar Singh's driver Sanjay had gone along with him to deliver the money - as claimed

by BJP MPs Fagan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora.

The two were among the three MPs who had claimed they were paid to abstain from the Lok Sabha trust vote sought by the Manmohan Singh government after the Left withdrew support over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Saxena was caught on camera paying BJP MPs Kulaste, Bhagora and Ashok Argal bribes ahead of the confidence vote.

More valuables found at Illegal mining: Ombudsman slams Yeddyurappa Sai Baba's home Bangalore: More valuables, including 6.09 kg of gold, 245.36 kg silver and Rs 80.50 lakh cash were recovered from the Whitefield complex of late Sathya Sai Baba during an inventory.

The inventory was conducted by the Sathya Sai Baba Trust members along with Bangalore Urban district deputy commissioner at the Brindavan ashram near Whitefield in the outskirts of the city.

The gold and silver found were in the form of trinkets, medallion, chains, coins, mainly offerings made to the spiritual guru during the past several years, ashram PRO Anantharaman said.

The valuables were largely recovered from one of the rooms where Baba used to sleep and meet visitors, he said. No gold or silver bricks were found during the inventory, Anantharaman said, adding most of the articles were used during puja.

The ashram, inaugurated by Sai Baba on June 25, 1960, served as his residence during his stay in the city. This is the fourth time that an inventory of precious metals and cash in Sai Baba's personal chambers is being conducted at the instance of the government after he passed away on April 24.

In the first inventory made on June 16, 98 kg gold, 307 kg of silver apart from Rs 11.56 crore in cash were found.

The most recent inventory was conducted on Monday at the second building of Yajur Mandir and four rooms of Poornachandra Chamber in Puttaparthi. Officials had found 34.5 kg gold, 430 kg silver besides cash worth Rs 1,90,53,899, media coordinator of the trust A Anantharaman said.

In the first inventory made on June 16, 98 kg gold, 307 kg of silver apart from Rs 11.56 crore in cash was found whereas on July 2, when the second inventory was taken, gold and silver articles worth Rs 74 lakh and a diamond studded ring worth Rs 3 lakh was found.

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Bangalore: The Karnataka capital was abuzz that Lokayutka (ombudsman) was set to charge Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa of doing precious little to check illegal iron ore mining and allowing his sons' business ventures to benefit from it.

The buzz started within hours after Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde told reporters that his officials have found "illegal mining evidence against influential politicians and people". In view of this, "I am seeking protection for their service and safety," he told reporters.

Hegde, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, has to submit his report on rampant illegal mining in the state within the next ten days as his five-year term expires Aug 2. The speculation in the political circles on contents of the report was that there seemed to be nothing new except that business ventures of Yeddyurappa's sons had financially benefited from those indulging in illegal mining.

The opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) parties have, however, been charging for weeks now that Yeddyurappa's family has been a beneficiary of illegal mining money.

Hegde himself has been relentless in criticizing Yeddyurappa for not acting to check illegal mining.

The names making round as getting mentioned in the report are those already facing serious charges of illegal

Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde. mining - mining barons and Bharatiya Janata Party ministers, the Reddy brothers, and their associate and Health Minister B. Sriramulu. Of the Reddy brothers, G. Janardhana, the most vocal, is tourism minister and his elder sibling G. Karunakara holds the revenue portfolio.

One more BJP minister, V. Somanna, in charge of civil supplies, is also said to find mention in the report. The other prominent leader is Yeddyurappa's predecessor H.D. Kumaraswamy of JD-S on the charge of giving sanction to two companies to

mine iron ore flouting rules.

Hegde did not confirm whether the gist of his report making rounds is true or not.

He told Kannada TV channels that his effort is to submit his report by July 24 or July 25.

The reported leak of his report seemed to land Hegde in a controversy as Congress leaders expressed fears that "this may become a ruse for the government to dump it".

The Yeddyurappa government had recently rejected a report of a committee it had set up to determined the extent of land encroachment in the state.

Performing Arts TheSouthAsianTimes.info

15

July 23-29, 2011

Mohan Khokar collection brings alive century of Indian dance The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection, one of the largest archival collections of memorabilia on Indian dance with over 300,000 documents, that opened in Delhi with ICCR support, will travel to the US and Europe towards the end of this year. he Mohan Khokar Dance Collection, one of the largest archival collections of memorabilia on Indian dance with over 300,000 documents, is getting a government platform for the first time in 80 years to showcase itself.

A weeklong exposition, “A Century of Indian Dance - 19012000″ presented a selection of souvenirs, art works, press clippings, dance accessories owned by the maestros and heritage bronze icons of the deity Nataraja dating to the Chola period, at the Visual Arts Gallery of the India Habitat Center in New Delhi.

The exhibition, sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), was inaugurated by ICCR president Karan Singh. The display will be formally closed by MP Shashi Tharoor July 24.

T

Uday Shankar (1900-77), sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s elder brother, posing as a nautch girl in a rare photo taken in a Paris studio.

A 1953 cover page of Filmfare magazine on Indian dance from the Mohan Khokar collection.

Hailed as the single largest collection of dance memorabilia, it was built by classical dance maestro Mohan Khokar over some 70 years since 1934. He was the first male student of Rukmini Devi Arundale at the Kalakshetra in Chennai.

After Khokar’s death in 1999, the collection was handed down to his son, Ashish Khokar, an art critic who has been adding to it since then.

The collection is a trove of rare material like brochures of leading dance institutions, handbills, posters, press-clips dating from 1900, letters, memorabilia, books, Ph.D. theses sourced from the writers, paintings, sketches,

Chola bronzes and everyday articles related to dance.

The exhibition has been divided into five segments - each of which will be opened by a dignitary.

Dr Karan Singh will inaugurate Nataraja Gallery - a display space dedicated to rare Chola period sculptures of Nataraja, the avatar of Shiva dedicated to dance with the unlocking of a rare Nataraja lock.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who is the ambassador designate to US, will inaugurate the costume gallery, displaying old dancing attires.

Sangeet Natak Akademi chairperson Leela Samson, who has

also been named chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, will inaugurate the Century of Dance gallery while scholar and writer Shanta Serbjeet Singh will open the Dance in Everyday Life gallery.

Soon after the inauguration, a contingent of classical dancers showcased the costumes - some belonging to dancers at the beginning of the last century - with live shows.

The exhibition also screened movies on dance, sourced from the archive, daily for a week.

“I met Ashish Khokar in New York a year ago, soon after I took over as ICCR director-general.

He told me how he was trying to bring the collection out to the masses for more than 20 years. I thought it was good work and decided to lend it a platform for display,” Director-general of ICCR Suresh Goel said.

He said the collection will travel to Europe and the US after July 24. “Lots of people abroad are interested in Indian dance. And if we need to continue with our future, we have to preserve history,” Goel said.

Ashish Khokar said, “My father began collecting dance memorabilia in 1934″.

“The collection has nearly 200,000 photographs and documents; and around 100,000 clippings. This is the first time it is getting a government showcase,”

Ashish Khokar is carrying on his father Mohan Khokar’s (1924-99) work of compiling history and heritage of Indian dance.

Ashish Khokar said.

“It is a ready-made collection and I want it to be institutionalized. I want the government to build a museum space to display it. It should be built as Mohan Khokar Dance Museum,” he added.

Rukmini Devi Arundale (1920-86) was the most important revivalist in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam.

New Sangeet Natak Akademi museum to open in Delhi he National Museum of Performing Arts, a new archive to preserve and showcase documentary material in possession of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), will open next month with two galleries in Delhi.

"The galleries will exhibit archival material comprising rare musical instruments, masks and puppets," Shanta Serbjeet Singh, vice chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, said.

The museum, coming up in Chanakyapuri, will be ready for formal

T

inauguration by the end of next year.

According to noted danseuse Leela Samson, chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademy and the new Censor Board chief: "The museum will archive documents, resource and memorabilia that the SNA has collected over the last 60 years."

"We are disseminating the material but it is expensive to digitize them. And we are short of funds.

We also don't know how we will manage the museum - one of the top dancers may have to quit their vocation to head the

museum. There is so much of material," Samson said.

"For the last 50 years, we were collecting.

Now that new museum spaces are coming up, we have started sorting material," Samson said, elaborating on the psyche of documentation of performing arts in India.

The building is almost ready, said dancer Geeta Chandran, a member of the SNA executive committee set up to oversee the project.

"The museum is unique. It should have been built long ago," she said

16

Ultimate Bollywood

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

'Zindagi Na...’ all about male bonding ome movie experiences can be summed up in a few lines. Others can take longer. This one would be hard to define. And to try to slot it or give it shape in any other form but the visual would take some doing.

The witticism, of course, flows. With Farhan Akhtar around, what else can we expect? But the spoken lines (a brilliant fusion of the colloquial and existential) are so doggedly wedded to the visuals that we come away with a complete and satisfying cinematic experience, so replete with life's most luscious home-truths that we want to carry the plot's bumper-sticker wisdom in our hearts forever.

Farhan Akhtar did it ten years ago, in "Dil Chahta Hai". He got three friends on the threshold of a career on a road-trip and let them come to terms with their own weaknesses and insecurities, even as Farhan, that wily filmmaker, discovered his own strengths as a storyteller.Now it's Farhan's sister Zoya Akhtar's turn to take that road trip.

As the workaholic money-obsessed stockbroker (Hrithik Roshan), the happygo-looking-for-his-dad prankster (Farhan

S

Actors Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in a still from the movie.

Akhtar) and the about-to-be-married-niceguy (Abhay Deol) set out on trip through locationally lush Spain (ummm, full marks

‘It is a ruthless industry’ hile there are strong rumors that hot Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez and Bollywood director Sajid Khan are going around and that some people on the sets of ‘Housefull 2’ even refer Jacqueline as ‘bhabi’, Jacqueline (amidst giggles) did confirm that first time in her life she was called bhabhi.

But she chose not to talk any further. "I am not comfortable talking about my personal life. I come from a different mindset and I don't like talking Jacqueline Fernandez: Riding high on about certain aspects the success of Murder 2. of my life. I need to maintain that. And I leads to better things, then people respect Sajid Khan," says Jacqueline don't bully you. But if you do it on basking in the glory of the stupen- your own it is a sweeter victory," dous success of her recent release she says.

Murder 2, with Emraan Hashmi.

And Jacqueline, who doesn't have With her very first solo hit, a single friend from the industry, Jacqueline says that she has always looks like has already tasted the understood the importance of hav- ruthless side of Bollywood. "It is a ing a hit, "but now it is clarified and ruthless industry. You don't know confirmed that only if you give a hit who is your friend and for what reaand your films do well that you are sons. Therefore I find it very diffiin demand," she says. cult having friendship with people I But would having a godfather am working with. I have a great helped her climb the ladder faster? time going out with co-workers but "Having a godfather definitely helps I don't confide to anyone from the the way people perceive you, it industry," says Jacqueline.

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for seductive eyecandy visuals) we follow right behind.

Oh yes, the ladies take the backseat.

Nonetheless Katrina Kaif's Laila, a gorgeous diving instructor who teaches Hrithik to dive into soul, makes such graceful space for herself among the boys that we wonder how she managed to make herself heard in a film that celebrates the spirit of male bonding in all its robust color splendor and noise.

Oh yes, we forgot! This guys' film is directed by a woman! The feminine touch is nowhere evident in Zoya Akhtar's direction. She leaves you wondering if delicacy femininity and the opposite of a snobbish misogyny that our desi female directors have been seen to follow, vanished while we were not looking.

Technically the film wears its art on its sleeve. Carlos Catalan's cinematography captures the pain and the fun in Spain without letting the touristic urge take over.

Yeah, the film looks fetching.

But not at the cost of the characters' search for bearings in a world that mocks at the beauty of Nature. Editor Anand Subaya doesn't cut the film. He carves the material in shapes that a jeweler would probably like to imitate if he only knew how.

After 18 yrs, Big B, Sridevi are back fter a long gap of 18 years, Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi have come together for a film.

Sridevi, who returns to acting after 15 years will be playing the female lead in the film directed by Gauri, wife of R Balki who directed Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Paa’.

Bachchan and Sridevi shot their last film Khuda Gawah in 1993.

Bachchan, who is thrilled to work with the actress tweeted, "with the effervescent Sridevi after eternity almost. She is still the same spontaneous and lovely."

Bachchan and Sridevi have

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Sridevi and Amitabh: Ready to scorch the screen once again. acted in Inqalab, Aakhri Raasta

and Khuda Gawah.

Shiv Sena slams SRK he Shiv Sena has slammed Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan for throwing a lavish party at his residence when Mumbai was mourning the loss of lives in the triple bomb blasts that rocked the city.

The party's mouthpiece 'Saamna' said that the incident portrayed Khan, who has played a hero on the silver screen, as a villain in real life.

According to the paper, Friday's bash was to celebrate Katrina Kaif's birthday and a private screening of her latest release 'Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara'.

Besides SRK, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Chunky Pandey, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Karan Johar, were prominent among those present at the party.

Shiv Sena has been targeting SRK since he lamented the exclusion of Pakistani players from IPL third season after the 26/11 terror attacks.

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Shiv Sena has been targeting SRK since he lamented the exclusion of Pakistani players from IPL after the 26/11 attacks.

Ultimate Bollywood Thesouthasiantimes.info

17

July 23-29, 2011

'Chillar Party,' small film, big heart t one point in American history, dogs and blacks were not allowed in public places. During the British occupation of China, it was 'dogs and Chinese' while at the first Mumbai marathon the rule was against dogs and wheelchairs. A dog has thus become a metaphor for seclusion, for denying someone their fundamental rights.

"Chillar Party" uses this metaphor in a brilliant, but hilariously entertainment manner to make a statement against those who seclude, be it Shiv Sena in Mumbai, fanatic Hindus who want Muslims out of India, or upper class Hindus who refuse lower caste people basic rights etc. That it does so while making you laugh, is its greatest strength.

After a street kid Phatka (Irrfan Khan) and his stray dog Bhidu begin cleaning cars in a rich locality, the rich, school going kids first try to fend him off, but

later become great buddies. When a minister offended by the dog passes a law to ban all street dogs from Mumbai, the kids resort to some unconventional activism to save their beloved dog. But is it even possible for the powerless kids to take on a high and mighty minister?

"Chillar Party", in essence, is a children's film. But those who can read between the lines and see between pictures know that the most brilliant, imaginative and metaphorical literature and cinema in the world, are for kids.

The film is filled with observations and idiosyncrasies that will leave you laughing your guts out. Every child in the film has acted with such restrained understatement that they give your popular stars a run for their money.

And yet, beyond all these beautifully working elements, it is the metaphor of the dog that takes the cake.

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Actor Salman Khan with the ‘Chillar Party’ team.

Poonam Pandey in Big Boss 5?

Poonam Pandey: Controversy’s thy second name.

Genelia walks out of Rohit's film enelia D'souza has decided to opt out of the Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgn starrer ‘Bol Bachchan’, despite being asked to stay on board. The reason for Genelia's sudden exit was her presumably 'insignificant role'.

After Zameen, Rohit Shetty will once again be directing his favorite Ajay Devgn, alongwith Abhishek Bachchan in the film which is a remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Golmaal.

“When she read the script, Genelia felt that she didn’t have a very significant role in the film.

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Genelia D'souza: Looking for more meaty roles.

But that is with most of Shetty’s films - either they are too crowded or they are male-centric,” a source said.

However, a source close to Genelia said: “Her dates are clashing with Navdeep Singh’s film, starring Abhay Deol. She had to choose one.”

Needless to say, Shetty was rather taken aback by the actor’s decision and tried very hard to convince her to stay on-board.

However, after the actor seemed persistent on her decision, it seems that Shetty has offered the role to Prachi Desai.

Vampires to make Bollywood debut ontroversial model Poonam Pandey, who promised to shed her clothes if India won the cricket World Cup but didn't do so, has reportedly been offered a whopping Rs. 2 crore for the next season of Big Boss as her presence is expected to add spice and boost TRPs. "Poonam has been offered a signing amount of Rs. 2 crore for Big Boss season five, but the model is considering whether to accept the offer or not," a source closes to the model said.

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"Apart from this handsome amount, there is a contract mentioning that an ex-cricketer (one of the contestants) during the show will ask Poonam to fulfill the promise which she made during the World Cup. Because of this clause Poonam is still thinking about the offer," the source added.

The 21-year-old caught the headlines after she said she would strip in the green room if India won the World Cup. India won, but for various reasons Poonam couldn't fulfill her promise.

atish Kaushik is all set to make a movie on Vampires. The horror/thriller will be based on a book called The Company RED by Shantanu Dhar. Kaushik has bought the rights of the book for his film and believes that it will introduce the Indian audiences to a new genre of cinema.

When contacted, Satish Kaushik said, "I have read the book and I love the way Shantanu writes. It is so gripping that once you begin, you wouldn't want to keep it down until you finish. I love making movies and to give this book a form of a film will be amazing."

He added, "This genre is new for both the literary and the cinema world and I hope to make it at an international level." According to reports, Kaushik may be seen acting in the film as well.

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ivek Oberoi is teaming up with Hrithik Roshan for the first time in ‘Krrish 2’ and the ‘Saathiya’ actor says he plans to be the best villain ever in the movie.

Hrithik and Vivek started their careers around the same time. Hrithik Vivek entered the debuted with action industry in 2002 drama ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar with underworld Hai’ in 2000 while Vivek saga ‘Company’. entered the industry in

Vivek glad to turn ‘baddie’

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The horror/thriller will be based on a book called The Company RED

2002 with Ram Gopal Varma’s underworld saga ‘Company’. Though they have been friends for long, this will be the first time they’re on screen together.

“Hrithik has been a good friend over the years and it is fabulous to finally work with him. It took almost a decade, but it’s finally happening,” says Oberoi.

While Hrithik would be

playing the quintessential hero in ‘Krrish 2’, Oberoi promises to be the Gabbar of the enterprise.

“It is fun to be playing Raavan against a Ram. ‘Krrish’ is a brand and to be a part of this legacy is no less an honor. I am indeed treating this as a film which would bring out the Gabbar in me. I am aspiring to be the best baddie ever,” the actor said.

18

Travel

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

NOW, GLOBAL PARTY HOPPING

By Shweta Mehta ot content with heading to Goa for the best parties every year, this 20something duo traveled around the world seeking revelry. Now, taking their global nightlife experiences into account, Chirag Khandelwal and Akhilesh Lakhotia have set up Trips Gone Crazy, a travel

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company that focuses on party tourism.

"It was on one of our holidays that it struck us that a lot of these places should be promoted in India. Nightlife has become an integral part of our lives, so we wanted to club it with tourism," says Lahotia, who has travelled to a range of destinations to shortlist the best ones. Setting up the company was no mean feat. However, Lahotia The Rio Carnival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Immensely loved for its street parties, bands and samba parades. Over a million tourists join locals to watch a show put up by the best artistes from Brazil and around the world.

The competition between local samba schools is fierce. Apart from the flashy costumes, there are also plenty of beaches and bars to visit. It's more fun when you go in a larger group. We suggest a visit to a nearby South American country that's known for its beauty and nightlife alike.

enthuses that facilitating tie-ups was not too difficult. "Most places are tourist spots.

And after Europe's economy went down, they were willing to work with us," he explains. "We've got group deals that will ensure a VIP experience for tourists."

According to Lahotia, since party tourism falls under the category of special interest tours, it will do well.

"Travelling culture is evolving, and everyone wants to travel internationally, even with a Rs 25000-30000 salary," explains Lahotia, adding that international artistes too have been coming here and performing at gigs.

"Many of them are resident DJs of clubs on our itinerary." Here are their top five destinations to visit:

Full Moon Parties, Koh Phangan, Thailand

This island is known for its Full Moon Parties, which happen every month on full moon day. The serene beaches transform into a festival, where renowned DJs play music of every genre. There are fire jugglers, tattoo artists, glow paints and massive lanterns -- a total beach blowout! There's something for everyone. This is our number two choice owing to its beach scene and proximity to India, making it nearby as well as affordable.

Electronic Dance Music, Ibiza, Spain

This is our number one Electronic Dance Music destination. For several years, this gorgeous island in the South of Spain has held the crown of 'Party Capital of the World', and not without reason. Ibiza has breathtaking views and jaw-dropping music. The island runs purely because of its nightlife scene. Its dominance reflects in the fact that the world's top five DJs reside here for four months annually to play at local clubs. It is claimed that they all come here to "meditate and create music". For me, it holds the top position because of its sexy beaches, bars, sunset points, a mix of world population, awesome nightclubs and the freshest music.

Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany mong the best-known beer fests in the world, its greatness lies in the fact that lots of countries have replicated the concept.

This is a must for all beer lovers.

One can choose between preservativefree beers, freshly brewed lagers or even some typical German formulae that have been in use since the 16th century.

Order beer and food at your table, which you can share with a stranger. We club this trip with a visit to Amsterdam to make it even more fun.

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Greek Islands, Greece hese islands have one of the best topographies in the world! You can just stand at the edge of a cliff and gaze into the blue. The islands are white and blue and have a vibe of their own. Check out the calm beaches or hit a beach bar for some heavenly cocktails. The islands have a notoriously fun nightlife to offer. You can lose yourself in the streets, hop across bars and clubs and mingle with locals. Cure your hangover with a delicious local breakfast.

Greece is beautiful at any time of the day!

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Op Ed TheSouthAsianTimes.info

19

July 23-29, 2011

Mumbai attack shows India's vulnerable

By Amulya Ganguli

ven before the country could ascertain the implications of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's much-awaited cabinet reshuffle, especially since it is supposedly the last major one before the next general election, the Mumbai blasts reminded it yet again of its dangerous neighborhood and volatile domestic scene.

For the present, the terrorist outrage appears to be the handiwork of an indigenous group, probably the Indian Mujahideen. But the curious coincidence of these attacks taking place on the 13th and 26th of a month points to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba's hand.

Before the multiple explosions in Mumbai on Sep 13, the German bakery in Pune was a terrorist target on Feb 13, 2010, before which occurred the horrendous Mumbai massacres of the Pakistani suicide bombers on Nov 26, 2008.

The fact, however, that India has experienced no more than two major terrorist attacks in the nearly three years after 26/11 is a sign that the security situation has improved since the days of the "spectacularly inept" Shivraj Patil, to use the Wikileaks quote about the former home minister. There were minor ones, of course, as in Varanasi on Dec 7, 2010, in

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For the present, the terrorist outrage appears to be the handiwork of an indigenous group, probably the Indian Mujahideen. which two people were killed.

But one probable reason for the improvement is that Pakistan may have decided to rein in its jehadis because of the realization that another Mumbai-style attack will earn it the wrath of the world as never before. However,

there is every reason to believe that P.Chidambaram has proved himself to be a competent home minister. That is undoubtedly the reason why Manmohan Singh did not change his portfolio despite a brief speculation that he may be shifted back to finance.

It is probably also true that apart from Chidambaram in home, Pranab Mukherjee in finance and A.K. Antony in defense, the Congress's cupboard is quite bare where efficient ministers are concerned. Even in the case of the external affairs minister, S.M. Krishna, it is no secret that his tenure hasn't been a notable success. While his gentlemanly demeanor is a plus point, he has all the makings of a stop-gap arrangement, except that the party seems to have no one else at the senior level to turn to.

Even if the near-permanent status of the Big Four shows that the Congress is not brimming over with talent, it does give an opportunity to them to focus on their jobs for the next few years. In the context of the Mumbai blasts, the fact that Chidambaram will have a relatively undisturbed tenure is to be welcomed because it will enable him to put in place an effective counter-terrorism and also counter-insurgency strategy since the Maoists, too, pose a grave threat.

Where terrorism is concerned, the home minister's brief overlaps with that of the external affairs minister because of the Pakistan factor.

(The author is a political analyst. The views expressed are his own)

Cabinet reshuffle a damp squib? he much anticipated cabinet reshuffle in the end stood out for what did not happen rather than the big-ticket changes that many thought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make to give his government a new image. In the process, the larger message -- either political or on the economic front -- was clearly lacking in the exercise.

The big four -- Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram, A.K. Antony and S.M. Krishna -- retained their portfolios of finance, home, defense and external affairs, belying talk of "changes at the top".

Mukherjee was not made deputy prime minister, although expected in some circles, nor were other three moved out despite whispers in the corridors.

Krishna, despite adverse comments on his handling of the foreign ministry and unflattering write-ups about the undue influence wielded by his political advisor, retained the portfolio whose strategic vision is known to be outlined by the prime

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President Pratibha Patil administers oath to Milind Deora as Minister of State, at a swearing-in Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. minister himself.

The foreign minister, on whose continuance many had put a question mark, was told some days ago that he should have no fears and was asked to go ahead with preparations for the coming visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

There had been reports that Anand

Sharma wanted the job and he had privately talked of his desire to return to the ministry where he had served as a minister of state before being elevated to cabinet rank with the commerce and industry portfolio.

He now has additional charge of the textiles that was being held by Dayanidhi Maran, who was made to

resign from the cabinet following charges about his involvement in the telecom license scandal.

The DMK could not decide on its nominees in time to replace A. Raja and Dayanadhi Maran, both of whom had to resign in ignominy. Raja ended up in jail and Maran is going to be investigated.

Jairam Ramesh, an environmental evangelist who put green concerns on the front burner of the nation and became a passionate and articulate advocate for the emerging economies in international forums, got promoted for his work to cabinet rank.

Since Murli Deora resigned, his son Milind Deora, who has made his own name as a young MP with varied interests, including being a performing jazz guitarist, has been inducted as minister of state for communication and IT to complement the work of his friend Sachin Pilot, who too is a minister of state in the ministry that will continue to be overseen by Kapil Sibal.

Also Vayalar Ravi continues to

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

hold dual charge of aviation and overseas Indian affairs. There has to be another tinkering with the cabinet in the near future to lighten the burden of those like Sibal and Ravi who continue to hold two heavyweight portfolios each.

Salman Khursheed, who was part of the government troubleshooting team that interacted with civil society representatives, has obviously become one of the government's blueeyed boys along with Sibal and Ramesh. Khursheed takes over the law portfolio at a time when the country's highest court has been accused of judicial activism and arrogating to itself executive roles that it was not meant to play.

The prime minister and the Congress president evidently did not have enough confidence in the newage wine in the party to replace the old and infuse new hope in a people who had become cynical and despairing about the country in the face of corruption scandals and growth slowdown.

20

Diaspora

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Dubai based Indian driver Students in Manchester start files RTI on NRIs signature campaign against terrorism London: Indian students in Manchester have started a signature campaign against terrorism.

According to a press release issued by the organising committee of the Indian students of Manchester, they will hold a signature campaign on Sunday from 11.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (local time) in which around 120 Indian students in Manchester will participate.

The event will focus on key

issues like creating awareness on curbing terrorism in India and appealing to the authorities in India for immediate action, the release said.

During the event, the students will be asked to participate in the signature campaign where they will write their views and sign the canvas. This will be followed by a discussion of the key areas for action and change. Every participant will address a letter of appeal

to The President of India.

'Get L.O.S.T' is a just a beginning of an ongoing campaign for addressing the immediate needs for a safer India. Our vision goes beyond this signature campaign which we hope will create awareness for many more initiatives, encourage a better system and ultimately try to bring about a change in people's attitude towards security and resilience, the release said.

Indian community leaders form group to help students in Australia Melbourne: Following several incidents of violence against Indian students in Australia, community leaders here have teamed up to help new migrants from India to adjust to a new life in this country.

A team of prominent community leaders in association with the Indian Consulate here have formed 'Committee on Student Related Activities' (COSRA) that would hold workshops for students educating them about several issues vital for any new migrant.

The community realized that some homework was needed from the students' end as well. The inception of COSRA took place after realizing that need. "I believe that the positive impact of

COSRA's activities will go well beyond individual students in Australia and will assist with increasing enrollments in educational institutions in Melbourne in the longer term," said Primus Australia CEO Ravi Bhatia, coordinator of the group.

It will assist new students from India in settling down in the country. The group would also provide them personalized help in dealing with emergencies.COSRA will extend emergency assistance as "point of last resort" for medical advice, legal advice, bridging accommodation and employment advice. A large group of volunteer doctors, lawyers and other highly skilled professionals are part of the organization.

Dubai: A Dubai-based Indian driver has filed an application under the Right to Information ( RTI) act to find out about the exact number of overseas Indians and the state of their welfare.

Kamaruddin Valiyavalappil has taken this step after his earlier bids to seek information were denied.

According to a news report, the court ordered the concerned authorities to furnish the information within six months, which Kamaruddin alleges was never acted upon, forcing him to sue them in the Kerala High Court.

The driver who works for a company based in UAE's Jebel Ali and has been in the Gulf for over two decades says he is ready with a charter of rights including declaring an expatriate policy in tune with the Indian Constitution, ensure voting right for all NRIs, reserve seats in the Indian Parliament and assemblies for NRIs. Using the platform of the Federation of NRIs, Kamaruddin has now designed detailed welfare charter for overseas Indians demanding more rights and respect for those who contribute to the economy through their remittances which run into billions every month, the Emirates 24/7 report said.

Kamaruddin Valiyavalappil’s charter demands rehab and implementation of welfare measures for expats back home after job loss Before approaching the Kerala High Court, he also wrote to the Prime Minister, including his charter of demands for expatriate welfare, but found no response.

His charter of demands includes, among others, rehabilitation and implementation of welfare measures for expatriates returning home due to job loss.

His law suit calls for action against the Indian Government, represented by the Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Kerala State Government represented by Chief Secretary, Minister of Overseas Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, and other concerned officials, who according to him, have not responded to the Kerala High Court's directive to provide him vital information that he requested as per the Right to Information Act.

Australian school Goan convention in London to discuss environment issues back home apologizes to Sikh boy Chandigarh: A Catholic school in Melbourne has apologized to a Sikh student for forcing him to shave off his beard, a communication from the union ministry of external affairs (MEA) to a Punjab MP said.

Following news reports of a Sikh boy being asked by school authorities to shave his beard, Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Avinash Rai Khanna had raised objections and written to the MEA demanding government intervention into the incident.

The MEA conveyed the information to the Indian High Commission in Canberra.

Khanna said Thursday that he has received a communication from the ministry stating that the school principal has apologized to the student.

'The letter from the ministry states that the school is relatively

a new one. As per school rules and regulations, it is mandatory for students to shave off their facial hair. In this particular case, two students, including a Sikh boy, were stopped by one of the teachers and were given a razor to shave off their facial hair,' Khanna said.

'While the other Catholic boy shaved his facial hair, the Sikh boy said that he did not know how to shave as he had never shaved before. One of the senior students told him how to shave but he did not shave his hair,' he added.

The Indian High Commission at Canberra was told by the school that, at no stage, the Sikh boy had indicated his religious practices which led to the incident.

The principal of school has apologized for hurting the sentiments, Khanna said.

Panaji: Thousands of Goans scattered all over the world will converge in London next week to voice concerns over rampant mining and corruption in Goa and issues related to job security and unemployment faced by the diaspora.

The Global Goans Convention (GGC), scheduled to begin in Britain July 22, is being hosted by diaspora groups in association with the Goa government and is being held in tandem with the UK Goan festival.

Eddie Fernandes, a London-based spokesperson for the GGC, said that the brazen destruction of mountains and water-bodies in Goa's hinterland caused by mining was a cause of concern amongst the diaspora and that it needed to be tackled, 'before it is too late for Goa'.

'This is an issue which needs addressing before it is too late for Goa. The rampant illegal mining taking place in Goa is a cause for concern. We are fortunate having Carmen Miranda, a mining activist in London.

She has been making representations in Goa and Delhi too,' Eddie said.

Carmen Miranda, a former regional director of the Panos Institute, has been lobbying for an end to indiscriminate and illegal mining in Goa, which is literally a Rs.6,000 crore industry.

Conservative estimates put Goa's illegal mining indus-

Illegal mining in Goa is multi million dollar industry try at nearly 18 percent of the 45,000 million metric tonnes output, according to government data.

According to Eddie, the GGC, which will see thousands of expat Goans from the US, Canada, Australia, Europe and Africa converge in London for the three-day event, will also see the community connecting with their roots and culture.

'As this coincides with the 50th anniversary of Goa's independence, this is the main theme. Other objectives are to celebrate Konkan culture and to discuss some of the problems in Goa today,' he said.

Subcontinent TheSouthAsianTimes.info

21

July 23-29, 2011

Pak gets FM ahead of India visit Islamabad: Hina Rabbani Khar was sworn in as Foreign Minister of Pakistan; five months after she entered the Ministry as Minister of State (MoS). She was sworn in by Acting President Farooq H. Naek in the absence of President Asif Ali Zardari who is presently visiting Afghanistan.

Khar's elevation is being linked to her upcoming visit to India for the foreign minister-level engagement next week. Though she has been representing Pakistan in international fora and interacting with counterparts from other countries including British Foreign Secretary William Hague, much was made of her visiting India for the ministerial

engagement as an MoS. Hours before her elevation, Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal called on her at the Foreign Office to discuss the New Delhi meeting. Expressing satisfaction at the resumption of full spectrum dialogue and progress made so far, she stressed the need for the dialogue process to be uninterrupted and uninterruptible.

At 34, Khar is the youngest and first woman Foreign Minister of Pakistan. Born into a political family, she switched from the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) to the Pakistan People's Party before the 2008 elections.

The Foreign Minister-level

Petraeus cedes Afghan command

Gen. David Petraeus.

Kabul: Gen. John Allen took over command of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan from Gen. David Petraeus, assuming responsibility as Afghanistan's international allies draw up exit plans from the nearly 10-year conflict.

Allen said that the drawdown of US forces that started earlier this month and the transition of some areas to Afghan control this week does not mean that international forces are easing up in their campaign to defeat the Taliban insurgency.

"It is my intention to maintain the momentum of the campaign," Allen said at the handover ceremony in the Afghan capital. He said however, that he does not expect the fight to be easy.

"There will be tough days ahead. I have no illusions about the challenges ahead," he said.

US officials have trumpeted success in reclaiming Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan and training Afghan security forces as signs

that they are finally making progress toward peace in Afghanistan. But violent attacks have continued, including a number of high-profile assaults and assassinations in recent weeks.

At least 37 international forces have been killed so far this month in Afghanistan.

Allen, who was promoted to a four-star general shortly before the handover ceremony, takes over from Petraeus, who commanded international forces in Afghanistan for one year and is retiring from the military to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The ceremony came just hours after security forces in the capital killed the final attacker in the assassination of a close adviser to President Hamid Karzai.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, in which two gunmen shot Karzai adviser Jan Mohammed Khan and a parliamentarian he was meeting with in his house.

engagement between India and Pakistan will be held on July 27 in New Delhi, according to a reference made in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office recently. Though the foreign ministries of the two countries are yet to make an official announcement in this regard, a PMO statement regarding a meeting between Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Khar said she briefed him about her ‘scheduled Ministerial Dialogue with India on 27th July in New Delhi'.

At 34, Hina Rabbani Khar is the youngest and first woman Foreign Minister of Pakistan.

Ilyas Kashmiri is alive: Report

The Al Qaeda commander is still active in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Islamabad: Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, the Al Qaeda commander who was believed to have been killed last month in a US drone attack in Pakistan, is alive, a media report said.

Kashmiri is still active in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dawn said on its website quoting unnamed sources.

Media reports had earlier said that Kashmiri was killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region.

The US and the Pakistani government however could not confirm his death.

Anti-terrorism experts describe Kashmiri as one of Al Qaeda's main commanders. He was held responsible for a number of attacks in Pakistan, including the May 22 attack on a navy airbase in Karachi and the 2009 attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The US believe that Kashmiri, who is also a member of the terror group Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami (HuJI), was behind the March 2006 suicide bombing of the US consulate in Karachi that killed four people and wounded 48 others. The US State Department designated him as a "global terrorist".

Protest over Indian docs in Lanka Colombo: Sri Lankan doctors have voiced opposition to the authorities' move to allow over 100 medical practitioners from India to serve in this country's private hospitals despite "lack" of necessary qualifications and vowed to take trade union action.

"We are disturbed by the decision by the Sri Lanka Medical Council and the Director General Health Services to allow over 100 Indian doctors to serve here who are lacking the necessary qualifications," said Upul Gunasekera, a senior official of the doctors' trade union, the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA).

Gunasekera said the GMOA's executive committee will meet soon to decide on a suitable course of trade union action in protest. "Two Indian heart surgeons have been allowed to work here since last week. We represented matters to the medical

Doctors at the Government Medical Officers' Association, Sri Lanka. council over their unsuitability to work. They were ignored and they have been registered to work despite our protests," he said.

Gunasekera claimed that some of the Indian doctors who serve here had not even registered with India's national medical council.

Sri Lankan heart surgeons are not allowed to handle surgeries unless they have undergone eight years of training.

But, the Indian doctors are being allowed to handle heart surgeries with just 11 months of training, he charged.

22

International

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Drama, denials at Murdoch hearing London: A lot of questions and lot of explanations were presented by Rupert Murdoch and his team at the hearing of the hacking scandal surrounding his media empire in front of the House of Commons.

However not all of the explanations were convincing enough.

Murdoch told the House that sitting in front of them explaining the entire hacking scandal was the most humble day of his life. Murdoch also said that he was unaware of the hacking and that he was misled.

When asked if he were aware that in 2003 Rebekah Brooks gave evidence to the parliamentary committee and admitted to paying the police, he said he was not aware at the time.

"I am now aware of that, I was not aware at the time, I am also aware that she amended that fairly quickly after that," Murdoch said. Murdoch admitted that it was not the job of his News Corp to get in the course of justice and that providing justice was the job of the police.

Murdoch said, "It was not our job to get in the course of justice it was up to the police to bring those

fiasco. The police should hold those people whom I trusted and in turn they trusted others who may be responsible for the fiasco," he added.

Apart from Murdoch, his son James Murdoch and former Chief Executive of News International Rebekah Brooks were also present at the hearing. Brooks gave blank denials to all questions thrown at her, raising the question of her credibility. While she did admit to mistakes like the use of listening

Man in check shirt (left) tried to attack Rupert Murdoch with a plate of shaving foam, the attack was averted by Murodhc's wife, Wendi Deng charges and to carry out their investigation which we were 100 per cent cooperative with."

Earlier, in a dramatic development perhaps never witnessed in UK`s illustrious parliamentary history, an intruder barged into a Westminster committee room hearing Rupert Murdoch`s and his son James`s testimonies and shoved a plate filled with shaving foam at the media baron, temporarily breaking up the

Qaeda aims targets outside US

The modus operandi of al Qaeda's branch in Yemen is to conduct any type of attack possible.

Washington: Under the new leadership, al Qaeda is planning to shift its strategy from attacking inside the US to those western targets outside America, a report has said.

This is because, new al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, believes that it is easier to attack western targets outside the US rather than those on the US homeland.

"This broader attack strategy advocated by Zawahiri better aligns the goals of al Qaeda's leaders in Pakistan and affiliates, particularly in Yemen, which are increasingly becoming the group's frontline operators," 'The Wall Street Journal' reported.

The modus operandi of al Qaeda's branch in Yemen is to conduct any type of attack possible, whether or not it will have a spectacular result, US officials told the paper.

However, the news report said it is not clear how the new al Qaeda leader would execute his new strategy.

"Zawahiri has kept a low profile since taking over the terrorist group. He released a video on June 8 eulogizing bin Laden and vowing revenge for the al Qaeda leader's death. But it wasn't until June 16 that al Qaeda announced Zawahiri as its new leader, and he hasn't been heard from publicly since," the daily said.

session that was nearly two hours over schedule.

On being asked for the reason of his calling it the end for the 168year-old British tabloid News of the World, Murdoch said he closed down the newspaper because he felt ashamed of how it functioned.

"Yes we felt ashamed of what had happened, we though we would bring it to a close," said Murdoch. "I am not responsible for the whole

devices, she also claimed that quick remedial action was taken.

"Of course we made a mistake but I think we acted quickly after we got new information," Brooks said.

Brooks accepted the fact that payments were made to certain police officials to keep the entire scandal under wraps but she denied knowing any specific names of the personnel involved. She added that private detectives were hired and their payments were made through managing directors.

PM Cameron testifies to Parliament ritish Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament Wednesday that he wishes he had never hired former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his communications director.

Cameron stopped short, however, of admitting error, saying only that, knowing what he knows now, “I would not have offered

B

him a job and I expect he would not have accepted.� He added that, if it is proven that Coulson knew about phone hacking, he will have been lied to and he will be open to criminal charges.

Cameron also refused to deny discussing BSkyB with News Corp. executives, saying online "I have never had one inappropriate conversation."

'Chavez will run in 2012 vote' Caracas: An aide to Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said there is no doubt the president will run for re-election next year despite his struggle with cancer. The remark

by Finance Minister Jorge Giordani came as Chavez was in Cuba undergoing cancer treatment.

"There's no doubt he's going to be there in the 2012 elections, and afterward for many more years," Giordani said in an interview on state television.

The 56-year-old Chavez, who has been in office more than 12 years, has indicated he intends to continue with his re-election campaign next year despite his illness.

Chavez Fidel Castro has often been at Chavez's side during the Venezuelan leader's treatment in Cuba. Chavez underwent surgery in Cuba on June 20 to remove a cancerous tumor, which he has said was the size of a baseball. He

The 56-year-old Chavez indicated he intends to continue with re-election campaign next year despite his illness. hasn't said what type of cancer has been diagnosed or specified where exactly it was located, saying only that it was in his pelvic region.

Chavez has said the chemotherapy is aimed at ensuring cancer cells don't reappear. He hasn't said

how long the treatment is likely to last. When asked how long Chavez could be away, Vice President Elias Jaua told state television in an interview Monday night: "I don't know. That will depend on his treatment."

Guinea president survives rocket attack Conakry: Guinea's newly installed president survived a rocket attack on his residence that left one dead and led to the arrest of the coup-prone country's former army chief.

A group of rogue soldiers opened fire on Alpha Conde's residence overnight, sparking a twohour gun battle that rattled the first democratically elected Guinean president after seven months in power.

"My house was attacked last

Guinea's newly installed president Alpha Conde.

night but I congratulate the presidential guard who fought heroically from 3:10 am until 5.00am (local and GMT) before backup arrived," Conde said on state television. Conde later told French radio station RFI that he avoided being hurt in the overnight attack because he was not sleeping in his bedroom when it was blasted with bazookas and rocket-propelled grenades.

The president said two military leaders were detained.

Business TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 23-29, 2011

US-India to work on flight navigation New Delhi: US aviation watchdog Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would cooperate with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) on developing the ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) used for India's aviation sector is poised to grow, with the overall traffic last year growing by 23 percent and flight navigation. domestic traffic alone growing at 12 percent.

"AAI has shown keen interest in strengthening and would increase its cooperation with developing GBAS. We will cooper- the Indian authorities. "We are also ate with them," J. Randolph Babbitt, looking at runway safety and new chief administrator of FAA, said at technologies like satellite-based navigation system which will an industry event here.

GBAS is a critical safety system increase safety," he said.

"India's aviation sector is poised that uses the global positioning system (GPS) for efficient and safe to grow, with the overall traffic last navigation and flight operations like year growing by 23 percent and landing, departure and surface oper- domestic traffic alone growing at 12 percent. This trend will continue and ations within its area of coverage.

According to Babbitt, aviation safety is an important part of it," safety was a key area in which FAA Babbitt said.

US to invest $820 mn in India's energy sector New Delhi: The US government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) intends to infuse $820 million for renewable energy sector projects in India in the current calender year, its chief said.

"We hope to generate $820 million in this calender year to contribute to the growth of the renewable energy sector in India," OPIC president and chief executive Elizabeth Littlefield said at an industry event here.

According to Littlefield, a major chunk of about $520 million of the expected investment would come from American companies which would invest in renewable energy sector, while the remaining $300 million will come from private equity investments. "By the end of this calender year we hope to have generated $520 million in brand new investments from American companies and on top of that $300 million of private equity. So that's $820 million," Littlefield, who was a member

US developing cold storage facilities in India New Delhi: Developing cold storage facilities to strengthen food security in India is a main priority for the US, an official of the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) said here.

"One of our main priorities here is the cold chain storage facilities to strengthen food security in India," said USTDA director Leocadia I. Zak, who was a member of the delegation led by US Secretary

of State Hillary Clinton on a three-day visit here.

Zak said the agency was funding 100 priority development projects in the country, including in infrastructure and energy sectors.

"We are engaged in many projects here, including energy, infrastructure but cold chain storage remains one of the main priorities," Zak said at an industry event here.

Cloud computing next big thing for India Bangalore: As the next technology wave, cloud computing by enterprises has the potential to create about 100,000 new jobs in India, a latest study has said.

"Of the projected $4.5-billion total cloud computing market in India by 2015, private cloud will account for $3.5 billion, generate about 100,000 additional jobs and save about 50 percent of cost of IT operations for Indian enterprises," the study "Private Cloud Landscape in India", by Zinnov Management Consulting and global IT firm EMC Corporation, revealed.

In cloud computing, multiple servers are used as a single platform through a digital network (website) under secured environment with access to a range of applications and tools for reducing the cost of IT operations.

Cloud computing is emerging as the next big IT service for its pay-as-you-go model, which eliminates capital intensive investment by companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in setting up IT infrastructure.

Spend on using cloud by information technology and back office firms, telecos, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), manufacturing and government organizations is set to increase to 8.2 percent over the

23

Cloud computing by enterprises has the potential to create about 100,000 new jobs in India, says a new study.

next five years from 1.4 percent in 2010.

"There will be an increased preference of cloud adoption over the next five years in India. The total cloud market, which was about $400 million in 2010, is expected to growth by a whopping 60 percent annually with private cloud dominating the landscape," Zinnov chief executive Pari Natrajan told reporters here.

Air India had booked 27 Boeing 787s in 2006 in a mega deal for 68 aircraft from Boeing. of US Secretary of State Hillary Littlefield said, adding that her agency views the investments in Clinton's delegation, said.

Littlefield further said that her renewable energy sector as a part of agency has doubled the clean energy broader investments for the infraproject portfolio in India in a single structure sector.

Littlefield further said that that the year and this now stands at 2,200 MW. "In the last one year, we have magnitude of investments and interworked very hard with large and est in India was growing and that small companies in the field of solar India has gained the status of one of energy, off-grid power suppliers, her agency's most important partner village-based bio-gas plants," countries.

2010-11: Year of record crop for India New Delhi: Spurred by attractive prices, India's farmers produced record grain in the just-concluded 2010-11 farm year, even as the world struggled with shortages.

The country produced record 242 The country produced record 242 million tons of million tons of foodgrain in 2010-11 farm season. foodgrain in 201011 farm season logical departments reporting a (July-June), the fourth advance deficit. estimates showed.

The record foodgrain output was Foodgrains comprise rice, largely because of a sharp rise in wheat, coarse cereals and pulses. production of wheat to 86 million In 2009-10, the total farm output tonne against 81 million tonne in was 218 million tonne as com- the year before. The record high pared to 234 million tonne in the oilseeds production of 31 mt will year before. also help cut India's vegetable oil However, sustaining the record imports by about a million tonne. output may be difficult this year India had imported 9.2 million because of the poor rainfall in tonne of vegetable oil last year to July may affect sowing and even- meet the domestic shortfall. tually the output. By mid-July, the Experts have urged the governcountry had received 3% below ment to allow larger exports to normal rainfall with 13 meteoro- help farmers get higher prices.

24

Sports

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Test cricket: Time for an Indian authority ndia are No.1 Test nation for over a year now. This is undisputed, and so is that India are the World Champions in the limited-overs cricket. Yet, there are murmurs that India will have to win a series in Australia and South Africa to be truly called world champions. Before that India will have to overcome England in the four-Test series, starting at Lord's from July 21 .

India cannot ask for a greater occasion to stamp their superior status than winning their 100th Test against England and the 2000th in the game's history. Then Sachin Tendulkar has his milestone to reach, his hundredth international century, failing which either Rahul Dravid or Venkata Sai Laxman can make it a ton of centuries between the three of them by reaching the three-figure mark at the cricket's hoary headquarters.

Seldom has a Test been invested with so much. The English media has a knack of hyping up their sport, cricket is no exception.

There is little doubt that the two teams have been playing consistently well in Tests and they have come a long way.

Call it confidence or overconfidence, Englishmen are entitled to believe that by the end of the series their side have a good chance of displacing India from the top.

For India, it is a big opportunity to seal the series and state that they are the No.1, not

I

Call it confidence or overconfidence, Englishmen are entitled to believe that by the end of the series their side have a good chance of displacing India from the top. because of their manipulative skills playing three-Test or two-match series as some believe, but by proving they have it in them to win four-Test series.

The series itself is pregnant with all sorts of possibilities. If England are looking to win it either 3-1 or 2-0, India would first try

Bhajji, Dhoni in spirited rivalry over ads

Harbhajan Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

New Delhi: Call it a teaser before the real battle in England. Three days before India kick off a do-ordie tussle to defend their No. 1 Test ranking, the “spirit” seems to be bubbling in the India camp. A legal notice has been slapped on the UB Group by Harbhajan Singh’s mother, asking them to pull out an advertisement featuring Mahendra Singh Dhoni that “ridicules” the bowler. When contacted, a UB spokesperson said the company had no comments to offer as yet.

The feisty bowler and his skipper have featured in surrogate advertisements for rival liquor

brands.

While Harbhajan’s advertisement for Royal Stag Mega Cricket has a tagline “make it large”, the commercial featuring Dhoni for McDowell’s No. 1 Platinum Soda shows a Harbhajan look-alike being slapped by his father for making huge ball bearings, with the character asking himself, “Have I made it large?”

Dhoni’s punch line is about making a difference rather than making it large. Harbhajan’s representative, however, was quoted as saying that too much should not be read into the notice and that all was well in the India camp.

to win at least one Test and draw another to make sure they remain the top side.

If England can proudly claim that the Andrew Strauss-Andy Flower combination has done enough in the last two years to bring the team to a stage where they are confident they can beat any side in the world,

India's new coach Duncan Fletcher would like to make sure he can keep the team where his ward Gary Kirsten left -- best in the world in two of the three formats of international cricket.

What was thought to be a three-way race between India, South Africa and Australia for both the Test and ODI world championships has got expanded with England barging in after their Ashes triumph. If Australia are still in the process of rebuilding their side, South Africa are left fighting their nerves despite raising a crack team. India and England are today considered the best Test teams with a consistent record to back them up.

It is a series that is going to keep Test cricket alive. You don't need a timeless Test to decide the championship. The four Tests will see the world's best batting line-up taking on what is touted as the best pace attack plus the world's best off-spinner.

India's pace attack, spearheaded by Zaheer Khan, is no less potent even if Harbhajan's strike rate has not matched Swann's in the last couple of years. At the end of it, it is the team that can take 20 wickets more than once that will deserve to be at the top of the heap. Whatever be the outcome, it is a series that can stand out if the captains do not kill it.

Warne's statue to weave magic again!

Melbourne: Arguably the greatest leg-spinner in cricket history, Shane Warne has been the biggest headline maker in the last few decades. Now he has announced his retirement from all levels of cricket.

As a tribute, a 300 kilogram bronze statue of Warne is under construction by Louis Laumen, a Melbourne-based sculptor. He has been assigned to make this statue, which is likely to be erected during the Boxing Day Test, scheduled to be played between Australia and visiting India this December.

Speaking exclusively from Melbourne, he told Indian journalist Bipin Dani, "The Shane Warne statue is to be about nine feet high, so the amount of bronze will be about 300 kg. I imagine that there will be a number of cricketing greats, past and present, attending the unveiling ceremony on December 26. If Sachin Tendulkar is there, of course I would be delighted to meet him.”

Laumen is the sculptor of 10 statues already erected, which include Don Bradman, Keith Miller, Bill Ponsford and Dennis Lillee. "In Australia as in India there are very many who are passionate about the game of cricket. As a professional artist it is pleasing to give pleasure to so many by portraying their heroes. For me, the challenge is to portray character and I have always found great sportsmen to have distinctive and forceful personalities. I was especially moved meeting Keith Miller at the end of his life; a man of great distinction in many ways -- a great lover of classical

The 9-ft statue of Shane Warne, who played his last cricket match during IPL4, will be erected in Melbourne in December before the Oz-India Test match. Shane Warne (Inset). music and poetry amongst other things," he said.

Back to Warne. Whether controversies, headlines and adoring females chased him or he chased them is a question which will never be answered. Although the word ‘living legend’ has become overused and clichéd, Warne is definitely one, along with boxing immortal Mohammed Ali, golfing great “Tiger” Woods, Garry Sobers and our own Tendulkar.

Warne remains the only cricketer – past or present – who has inspired a musical play. That was in May 2009. In that musical the role of former Test cricketer Terry Jenner (who died last month) is shown with affection and humor.

Teenager Warne was talented in both AFL and cricket but refused to practice. He ignored his mother’s

fervent pleas but listened to Jenner’s coaxing and a star was born!

Warne reached the acme of his powers in late 1990s and is recognized as among the Top-5 all-time great cricketers along with Don Bradman, Garry Sobers, Jack Hobbs and Sachin Tendulkar.

Contemporary spinners Warney and Murali will be remembered with as much awe by batsmen in 1990s and 2000s as Australian Don Bradman and Englishman Wally Hammond by bowlers in 1930s and ‘40s.

Will we ever see the like of Shane Warne, the rebel without a cause -- the good, the naughty and the epitome of artistry? But on 26 December, we will see his statue before the Melbourne Test against India.

Books TheSouthAsianTimes.info

25 July 23-29, 2011

Arun Shourie pens down his family trauma he compassion of the Buddha and personal suffering combined to script a religion of pain and redemption for journalist-politician-writer Arun Shourie, who recalls the trauma of bringing up his disabled son and taking care of his ailing wife in his new book.

Shourie fell back on the teachings of Abraham and the Buddha when waves of desolation swept through him, and they helped him cling on to his moorings, he writes in the book, “Does He Know a Mother’s Heart: How Suffering Refutes Religion”.

He began to write the book, published by Harper Collins India, in the winter of 2009 after moving to Lavasa near Pune in Maharashtra. The move came after Shourie “lost interest in what he had been doing in Delhi”.

“Your neighbors have a son. He is now 35 years old. Going by his age, you would think of him as a young man, and on meeting his father and mother would ask almost out of habit, ‘and what does the young man do?’ That expression ‘young man’ does not sit well as he is but a child,” Shourie says of son Aditya (known as Adit), suffering from cerebral palsy.

Adit cannot walk. “Indeed, he cannot stand. He cannot stand, he cannot use his right arm. But he

T

In his new book, the one-time editor of Times of India and Indian Express, who also served as a federal minister, is trying to make sense of a son born with cerebral palsy and his wife who developed Parkinson’s after a car accident at age 42.

speaks only syllable by syllable,” Shourie, 69, says in his book.

The father shouts at the child, curses him. “You are the one, who brought misery into our home. We knew no trouble till you came. Look at you, weak, dependent and drooling…,” he lashes out.

But what if that father in question is “god”, Shourie wonders.

The perspective suddenly changes with the awareness that “father” is god, he says. “There

must be some reason God has done this,” he says.

Adit, he says, has a very high threshold of pain…”He has taught himself to bear unbelievable amount of it,” Shourie says.

“He (god) says in his book that he alone knows what is in the womb; and how it is progressing,” the writer says. Quoting ancient scriptures, he says: “God doth know what every female womb doth bear, by how much the womb falls short (of their

time and number) or do exceed.

Every single thing is before his sight; in due proportion. It is he who brought you forth from the wombs of your mother.”

The writer, once a hard-nosed journalist who was editor of both the Times of India and the Indian Express in the late 1980s, recalls moving to religion while rushing a frequently ailing Adit to hospital. But another personal loss accelerated the spiritual journey. “…One day as (wife) Anita was

driving Adit and herself to school, a jeep coming from the opposite direction lost control. It rammed into Anita’s little fiat.

She and Adit were tossed inside the car. Soon after the incident, Anita began to feel peculiar sensations on her left side. Soon the stiffness developed into tremors; eventually she was diagnosed with having developed Parkinson’s disease. She was around 42 at the time..,” Shourie looks back in time.

It prompts him to question god’s ways and infer a few eternal truths, which to the writer are strangely comforting. For dealing with life and what it sends us, the Buddha’s position is the most helpful, the writer suggests.

“Buddha explains whether the world is finite or infinite or both; whether the Tathagata survives after death or not…there is birth, there is aging, there is death, there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. They have to be dealt with…,” Shourie says.

Shourie, who held portfolios like disinvestment, commerce and industry and communications in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime (19992004), has written at least 20 books, dealing with issues such as Indian law and polity, national security, religion, economics, and journalism.

'Indian feminism more complex than of West' eminism in India is more complex compared to the West, says writer-publisheractivist Urvashi Butalia, whose essay on a transgender`s life is the lone Indian contribution in the latest Granta anthology.

"A bit of blandness has crept into Western feminism. The Western feminists feel that most of the issues they have fought for have been achieved. But what we have here is much more," Butalia told reporters.

Butalia’s essay, ‘Mona’s Story,’ the life of transgender Mona Ahmed and her search for a feminine identity, features in the British anthology of new-age writing, ‘Granta: The F Word,’ devoted to exploring the changing dynamics of feminism through articles, opinions, life stories and poems.

"I am amazed that the current issue of Granta has engaged so many people in the debate about feminism," Butalia said.

Her biography of Mona dredges up the debates over gender swap which continues to vex millions of Indians to this day when alternative sexual groups and minorities

F

Butalia’s essay, ‘Mona’s Story,’ the life of a transgender and her search for feminine identity, features in the ‘Granta: The F Word’ are asserting their rights the world over and winning brownie points in their crusade.

In India, despite the amendment of Article 377 by the Delhi High Court to allow the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities marginal sexual freedom, eunuchs are still objects of curiosity and doubt in the conservative social fabrics - given the

historical stigmas, roles and lifestyles associated with them.

"I met Mona, a boy-turned-girl, at a birthday party in a graveyard.

The proximity of birth and death stayed with us for many years in the graveyard," Butalia said in her book.

"The back wall of her home abutted that of a morgue of a local hospital and Mona would often

say to unsuspecting people, `I have the dead behind me and the dead below me`," she added.

Mona finds the grave on which people had built their homes a "fine way to live".

"Mona, born a boy, always wanted to be a mother. She learnt how to burp a baby even before she adopted one," the writer said.

But like all other members of the extended adopted families of transgenders in India, tragedy stalked her.

The birthday party where Butalia met Mona was heart-rending.

"It turned out that Ayesha (Mona`s daughter) had not come to her own birthday party because a few days earlier she had been abducted by her adoptive grandmother Chaman and `mother` Nargis, who along with Mona had formed themselves into a family for the child," the writer said.

If Butalia`s story in the anthology is a picture of an Indian reality, Caroline Moorehead`s ‘A Train In Winter’ is a wrenching tale of a police crackdown on French Resistance in 1942. It is a tale of the tough fronts women presented

to the police.

Of the 113 people detained in the raid, 35 were women.

The youngest of those picked up was a 16-year-old school girl, Rosa Floch, and the eldest was a 44-year-old farmer`s wife, Madeline Normand, who told police the 39,500 francs in her handbag was the money she had paid for selling a horse -- standing her ground during interrogation.

Nine months later, the women were transported on the only train meant to ferry women from the French Resistance to Nazi death camps. Said emerging African writer Taiye Selasi, whom Granta has introduced in its current issue on feminism: "In the peculiar hierarchy of African households, the only rung lower than the motherless child is the childless mother."

Her narrative, ‘Sex Life of African Girls,’ a comment on the vulnerability of women in big families, drives home an irony: "Africa may be opening itself to the world, but in the regimented filial closets voices of battered wives are the last ones to be heard."

After all, it is a man’s home.

26

Health

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Pill poppers invite more cycles of depression Toronto: Pill popping seems to be the easiest thing to do in the world, especially when trying to drive away our blues. But a study says the habit may backfire.

Evolutionary psychologist Paul Andrews of McMaster University points out that patients on antidepressants are likely to invite more cycles of depression.

His meta-analysis suggests that people not popping pills are at a 25 per cent risk of relapse, compared to 42 per cent or higher for those who have taken and gone off an anti-depressant, reports the journal Frontiers of Psychology.

Andrews and colleagues analyzed dozens of previously published studies to compare outcomes for patients who used antidepressants against those who used placebos, according to a McMaster’s statement.

Andrews says anti-depressants interfere with the brain’s natural self-regulation of serotonin and

other neurotransmitters, and that the brain can over-correct once medication is suspended, triggering new depression.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals which help transmit signals from one neuron to another

Worrying about her weight can endanger a woman’s career

London: Women who constantly worry about their weight could ruin their career prospects, according to a new report.

Almost a sixth of women say their lack of confidence as a result of their body shape, which in turn is having a negative effect upon their working life.

Nearly half of the women questioned also said they felt inadequate in the workplace as a result of these insecurities.

Some 15 per cent said anxiety about the way they looked had hindered their career progression. One in five of the 445 women questioned admitted that body image worries impacted their daily life, according to the survey carried out

by Dove.

Linda Papadopoulos, psychologist and author, said: ‘This doesn’t come as a surprise at all. When you are anxious about something, be it your weight or otherwise, it becomes the predominant thing on your mind.

‘This would understandably

affect your working life and your focus on your career. When women grow preoccupied with their appearance, they start to think about themselves in the third person.

‘They start thinking what a guy would see, or what would another woman see.’

The findings concur with those of research in Iceland.

In May, research showed that carrying extra weight was damaging to the employment rate and pay of women. Yet not only were men’s job opportunities and salaries unaffected by weight gain, they benefited from it slightly.

University of Michigan professor Edward Norton, who conducted a study in the U.S. in 2009, said: ‘There is something in western society that seems to penalize women for being overweight.’

A University of Florida study found that women 25lb above average weight earned £8,600 a year less than those who weighed the national average.

across synapses (junctions of such brain cells).

Andrews believes depression may actually be a natural and beneficial -- though painful -state in which the brain is working to cope with stress.

Energy drinks can be dangerous

New Delhi: Caffeine-rich energy drinks pose dangerous health risks and may cause seizures, strokes or even death, a study carried by the NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said Monday.

The NGO's Pollution Monitoring Lab conducted a survey from May to June which picked energy drinks randomly from markets across the country

and tested their caffeine levels.

The NGO's Pollution Monitoring Lab conducted a survey from May to June which picked energy drinks randomly from markets across the country and tested their caffeine levels.

"Forty-four per cent of them breached the caffeine limit of 145 ppm (parts per million) prescribed by the government," the study said.

New Therapy can ease irritable bowels Washington: There is new hope for people suffering from irritable bowels, marked by abdominal cramping or pain, bloating and gas, and altered bowel habits that afflict millions worldwide.

A new treatment, called InterStim therapy, is a minimally invasive procedure which uses electrical impulses to stimulate the sacral nerve and improve muscle function.

Sacral nerve emerges from the sacrum, a triangular bone forming the posterior section of the pelvis.

Its damage can result in a lack of bladder or bowel control.

InterStim therapy has been shown to reduce or eliminate irritable bowels in 80 percent of patients, according to recent stud-

ies.

'Bowel control problems can have a significant, detrimental effect on a person's emotional well-being,' said Anne-Marie Boller, colon rectal surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

'Patients often struggle with everyday activities and withdraw from social interactions due to embarrassment or fear, causing them to suffer in silence,' said Boller, according to a

Northwestern Memorial statement.

'This treatment is a tremendous advancement that has the potential to improve patients' bowel control and their quality of life,' Boller said.

The treatment involves three steps: test stimulation, surgical implant and post-implant follow up. During the first phase, a thin wire is placed to stimulate the sacral nerve.

This allows doctors to determine if the patient is likely to benefit from the therapy before moving forward with the full procedure. If the trial phase is successful, a long-term neurostimulator device, similar to a pacemaker, is then implanted in the buttock.

Sperm coat protein may be key to male infertility New York: The loss of a protein that coats sperm cells may explain a significant proportion of infertility in men worldwide, according to a new study.

The research by an international team of scientists led

by University of California Davis could open up new ways to screen and treat couples for infertility, Xinhua reported.

A gene DEFB126 encodes a protein called Beta Defensin 126, which coats the surface of sperm and helps it penetrate cervical mucus in the female.

A survey of samples from the US, Britain and China showed that as many as a quarter of men across the world carry two copies of the defective gene.

In the study, the researchers found that men with a muted DEFB126 lack Beta Defensin 126, making it more difficult for sperm to swim through the mucus and eventually join with an egg.

Examining 500 newly-married Chinese couples, researchers found that the lack of Beta Defensin 126 in men with the DEFB126 mutation lowered fertility even when men did not display other deficiencies like

inadequate semen volume and low sperm motility.

Wives of men with the Beta Defensin 126 variant were significantly less likely to become pregnant than were other couples, and 30 percent less likely to have a birth. This genetic variation in DEFB126 likely accounts for many unexplained cases of infertility, the researchers said. A paper describing the work was published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Lifestyle TheSouthAsianTimes.info

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July 23-29, 2011

How vodka, wine make hair and skin shine t is well known that a can be good for our hearts, but now it has emerged that the ingredients in our favourite alcoholic drink can be beneficial for our skin and hair too. More and more beauty companies are incorporating extracts from popular drinks like champagne, beer, vodka, cider and wine into their formulations, and the following are the reasons why.

"The grape extracts from champagne provide antioxidant protection from the free radicals which can prematurely age skin," the Daily Express quoted Sarah Adam, beauty buyer for QVC Skincare, as saying of champagne.

"They also help balance out uneven pigmentation," she explained. Where beer is concerned, the proteins from beer hops help add volume to hair, boosting shine and even stopping frizz.

"Hops can have antibacterial, astringent and toning properties on the skin too," skincare expert Esther Cooney explained.

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Vodka on the other hand works to tone, brighten, cleanse and polish the skin, said Rowena Bird, co-founder and product inven-

tor at Lush.

"It's often also used when creating perfume. It stabilises a perfume's scent," adds

Mobiles, music, lipstick putting drivers at risk obile phones, music, cosmetics, snacks and drinks are some of the things that distract drivers, putting at risk the lives of eight out of 10 motorists, a new survey says. An alarming 82 percent of drivers confess to having been badly distracted at some stage, the survey for price comparison website moneysupermarket.com found.

Music is the single biggest cause and 61 percent admitted that they get distracted while changing CDs, music on their iPods or radio stations, Daily Express reported.

Half said snacks and drinks are to blame and 23 percent admitted to making or taking calls on a handheld mobile phone while driving.

fragrance expert Michelle D'Vaz. Next, cider helps to keep our hair clean from pollution by stripping away dirt.

"It can help clean away the build-up in hair caused by pollution and lime from hard water," Karine Jackson, organic hair colour specialist said.

"It's alcohol based so will strip the hair of impurities. Try it before you have a colour to clear out build-up," Jackson advised.

Wine, which is already beneficial for our hearts, is the most powerful antioxidant.

"Elements from the vine have amazing benefits," Professor Joseph Vercauteren, from Montpellier University of Pharmacy in France said. "Grape seed polyphenols are the most powerful antioxidants in the plant world and protect the skin. Grapevine stalk (resveratrol) is a fantastic anti-wrinkle and firming ingredient for the skin.

"Grapevine sap (viniferine) boosts radiance, prevents and corrects dark spots and gives a luminous complexion," he added.

Kitchen, the best place for romance?

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Among the under-35 age group, 36 percent admitted sending texts while driving and two percent said they looked at Facebook even while driving.

Five percent of those surveyed

admitted to applying perfume or make-up while driving and 15 percent said they did not wear a seatbelt.Last year, 16,485 British motorists were convicted for driving without due care and attention.

How to stay young at heart, always ver thought why some folk have a sunnier disposition and sharper mind in old age? Well, scientists have found that an optimistic and light-hearted outlook can be greatly beneficial for people, especially in their elderly days. Scientists at Hamburg University have discovered that simply focusing on positive thoughts, and living for the moment, rather than looking too far into the future, can help maintain good mental health, the Daily Express reported Monday.

Previously, good genes, exercise and even completing crosswords were commonly cited as ways to keep one's brain young.

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Study author Stefanie Brassen says that successful ageing came down to "the positivity effect," which was "a biased tendency towards and preference for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences".

Her team conducted an experiment in which young and old were shown pictures of happy, sad, fearful or neutral faces. The old were much more engaged when they saw a happy face. By scanning their brains, the team found high levels of activity associated with good mental health in the part of the brain that controls emotions.Results published in the journal Biological Psychiatry suggest that staying happy a

new survey has found that couples like to romance in the kitchen. According to the poll, 44 percent of people admitted to sharing “intimate moments” with partners in the kitchen, with almost one in 10 saying it happens at least once a week.

And it’s not just newlyweds getting hot and heavy on the stove top, as one third of couples, who have been together 15 years or more, reported they still found time to get amorous while cooking dinner.

The poll of more than 1000 Australians found 53 percent of respondents revealing that the best way to get in the mood for romance is to share a home-cooked meal.

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Relationships expert Emma Merkas said that food had been an aphrodisiac for centuries.

“I think shows like MasterChef have increased interest in home cooking and created an expectation among women that men should be able to get involved too, instead of just leaving it to their partner,” News.com.au quoted her as saying.

Ninety percent of The Electrolux Passion for Food Survey respondents said a partner’s ability to cook was important with six out of 10 women wanting a male whiz in the kitchen. The traditional roast topped the list of favourite meals for romancing, followed by delicious food with decadent chocolate pudding the ultimate dessert.

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Humor

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Humor with Melvin Durai

Still figuring out what women want hroughout history, men have been trying to impress women, and throughout history, men have failed miserably. It began with Oongah the caveman, who thought he could impress the cavewomen by hunting mammoths and other large animals. After each hunting trip, he would return home with various tusk injuries, mostly to his buttocks, and show them off to all the cave dwellers, saying, "See! Me real man!"

The cavewomen would giggle, then cast their eyes on Dongah, who had set himself apart from the other cavemen by doing something that seemed rather gentlemanly in those days: going outside to pee. What everyone didn't realize was that Dongah was going farther and farther away from the cave.

Like generations of men to follow, he was marking his territory. Soon he controlled a vast expanse of land, which he showed off to all the cave dwellers, saying, "See! Me real estate man!"

At first, the cavewomen were impressed with Dongah's property, which included many caves, trees and rocks. But it didn't take long for

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them to realize that he couldn't give them what they really desired: credit cards.

When it came to inventing things, Dongah was out of his element, overshadowed by a caveman named Hongah, widely considered the greatest inventor of his time, having created what he called the "femaleimpressing raging energy" (FIRE).

Unfortunately for Hongah, fire didn't impress many women, partly because they could no longer relax in the evening.

They were now expected to cook.

But Hongah was determined to impress women, so he spent his days and nights on an even greater invention, one that would have an impact on the female species until the very end of time. He called it the handbag. Unfortunately for Hongah, when he presented this new object,

made of the finest rabbit's fur, to an attractive cavewoman, she hit him over the head with it, saying, "Cook it yourself." This was the beginning of women's lib.

Fast forward to the 21st century and only the names have changed.

Oongah is Oliver, the muscle-bound man who pumps iron at the local gym, attracting the attention of women by grunting loudly like a caveman. He has a chest the size of a washing machine, yet he's saving up for pectoral implants.

He wears tank tops, participates in various sports and activities, and is eager to share details of his latest injury, whether he sprained his ankle while skiing or strained his frontal lobe while reading.

Dongah is Donald, the real estate magnate who is creating his own empire, signing deals to buy hotels, casinos and sky scrapers, marking his territory as publicly as possible, simply by pulling out his pen. He surrounds himself with beautiful women and tries to keep them happy by giving them the best handbags in the world -- handbags full of credit cards. Hongah is Hitesh, the technology whiz from India who owns

so many gadgets his friends call him "Hi-tech." All his gadgets are wireless and multi-functional, such as the cell phone he uses to take digital pictures and the digital camera he uses to make phone calls. Whenever he meets a woman, Hitesh brings out his gadgets, introducing them with more pride than most people

introduce their children.

Each of these men has something to offer women: Oliver has bulging muscles, Donald has sprawling property and Hitesh has 100 gigabytes of disk space. But the women don't stick around for long. Strange creatures, they seem to be looking for something else.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

by Mahendra Shah Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons.

Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Tech Life

Coming soon: Wireless nappies, 3G slippers!

LONDON: Mobile phone companies are coming up with more and more weird ideas to lure customerswith the latest being the development of 3G slippers and wireless nappies.

Rather than selling more phones, mobile firms are now looking to squeeze more revenue from the customers and networks they have already established.

Engineers are developing 'SmartSlippers' with a tracking chip in them that will notify your relatives when you fall.

"Think of what can be gathered just off your

feet," the Daily Mail quoted David Schieffelin, chief executive of manufacturers 24eight, as telling the Wall Street Journal.

"Why shouldn't something as innocuous as a data device be placed into fuzzy slippers?"

Schieffelin added.

Researchers are also working on wireless nappies that will send parents a text message when their child needs attention.

"A parent can remotely monitor a care centre and get "diaper wet" messages when they are at work," added Schieffelin.

Super battery to charge your mobile in seconds WASHINGTON: Imagine charging your iPhone or mobile in a few seconds.

Well, your imagination may someday turn into a reality, say scientists who claim to be working on " super batteries" which not only recharge in just seconds, but also have an almost indefinite lifespan.

A team, led by Dan Li of Monash University, says that a combination of two ordinary materials -- graphite and water -- could help produce such "super batteries" which perform on par with lithium ion batteries.

The scientists are, in fact, working with a material called graphene which may form the basis of the next generation of ultrafast energy

storage systems, the 'Advanced Materials' journal reported.

"Once we can properly manipulate this material, your iPhone, for example, could charge in a few seconds, or possibly faster," said Li. Graphene is the result of breaking down graphite, a cheap, readily available material commonly used in pencils, into layers one atom thick. It is strong, chemically stable, an excellent conductor of electricity and, importantly, has an extremely high surface area.

Li said these qualities make graphene highly suitable for energy storage applications.

"The reason graphene isn't being used everywhere is that

these very thin sheets, when stacked into a usable macrostructure, immediately bond together, reforming graphite. When graphene restacks, most of surface area is lost and it doesn't behave like graphene anymore," he said.

The team has discovered the key to maintaining the remarkable properties of separate graphene sheets -water. Keeping graphene

moist -- in gel form -- provides repulsive forces between the sheets and prevents re-stacking, making it ready for real-world application, say the scientists.

"The technique is very simple and can easily be scaled up. When we discovered it, we thought it was unbelievable. We're taking two basic, inexpensive materials -water and graphite -- and making this new nanomaterial with amazing properties," said Li. When used in energy devices, graphene gel significantly outperforms current carbon-based technology , both in terms of the amount of charge stored and how fast the charges can be delivered.

Astrology TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 23-29, 2011

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: July 23-29, 2011 Aries: This week you would experience some development at work place, which could have long lasting effect on your career.

Financial gains would not be as expected and minor health problems could also upset your productivity. Good week to embark on a pilgrimage or participate in social work. You should attend a literary program, which would bring new ideas to your mind. Social events would prove expensive but help in establishing long lasting contacts.

Taurus: This week it would be important that you do not hesitate in seeking help and suggestions from others if needed. Your morale will be high and you should try your best to complete pending projects on time. Expenditure rises but fresh inflow of funds would make you smile.

For those travelling it would be a highly pleasurable and educating experience. No matter how generous you might feel, avoid overspending on others.

Gemini: This week new opportunities would come through people you know.

You could face lots of embarrassment if you promise more than what you can deliver, therefore be extra careful of what you say. You would receive an important information from distant place, which would bring happiness for you and the entire family. You are likely to attend religious ceremonies or social function towards the weekend.

Cancer: Perfect week to participate in seminars and social functions. You would be highly appreciated if you focus on the welfare of all those around you. Socializing would lead to new friendship and valuable information. Planned investment would bring good rewards. Pressure at work and home could make you short tempered, but hard work and sincere efforts would bring results and rewards that you desire.

Leo: This week family members would be highly demanding and would add pressure to your mind. Don’t be afraid to seek support from friends. Visiting a place of worship will bring mental peace. Good week for artistic and educational pursuits. Relationship with important people will improve. You are likely to benefit from past investments. Watch your words and hasty decisions, as it would only bring losses.

Virgo: Business wise it would not be a very good week, as results would fall short of your expectations. Patience and cool would be required to maintain harmony around you. For those employed, it would be a hectic and stressful week. They need to double-check their work before presenting it to your seniors, as they could easily be a victim of their boss’s erratic behaviour. End of the week would be better for social activities and building new ties.

Household expenses would rise.

Libra: This week secret enemies would try to harm you, so stay alarmed. Bold steps and decisions would put you in a better position in your organization. Real estate investment should be worthwhile, but lay your money on the table only after consulting the experts.

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Happiness and excitement would prevail at home as guests and visitors come regularly and bring you gifts in cash and kind.

Scorpio: Disagreements at work place would only dampen your spirits and add pressure to your mind. Your boss might be unreasonable to you, but you need to swallow whatever he say, as reacting could only create further problems. Your frustration could also ruin your health, so put your mind to rest and stop thinking about these events. You should spend the weekend in the company of close friends. Rash driving and alcohol would prove disastrous.

Sagittarius: This week unnecessary risk should not be taken in business. All investments need to be made carefully and with proper consultation to avoid unnecessary losses.

You should do things that would add to your popularity. You also need to take care of your health. Period when everything you hear should not be believed. Find the truth for yourself before reaching to any conclusions. Overseas news or offers for some cannot be ruled out.

Capricorn: This week your boss would recognize your efforts, and reward you handsomely. Your skills and technical knowledge would be appreciated by others. You would also easily dominate the opinions of people around you, if you turn on your charms and use your intelligence. Health of your spouse may cause worry and need some medical attention.

Take extra care while driving. Travel would be pleasurable and highly beneficial.

Aquarius: Stay alarmed as somebody jealous of your popularity might try to cause you major harm. You would also make new plans, but at the back of your mind, you know very well, that it would be difficult to execute these plans without support from others. Tact would be required to convince your group to follow your directions. Secret affairs will be exciting, but could severely damage your reputation.

Pisces: This week your imagination would run wild, so put your thoughts on paper so that you can refer to them at a later stage. You should use your energy wisely, possibly in competitive sports or outdoor games.

Certain changes made at the last minutes would bring you results you want. You will be in the position of authority and easily surpass rivals that you might encounter. Travel for some proves hectic and stressful. Invest wisely, especially in stocks.

Before you consult... i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date, Time and Place of birth is accurate. ii) Careful: Did you check background of the astrologer before disclosing your secrets. iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, don’t feel shy. It’s his business. iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the outcome is not as desired, never give up. v) Consult: Take second opinion before spending thousands on cure/remedies.

Annual Predictions: For those born in this week July 23: Ruled by number 5 and the planet Mercury. You are practical, sensitive, friendly, diplomatic and an optimistic person. You possess a sharp memory, excellent health, and a powerful character. You are highly respected in your group and people look up to you for inspiration and support, but you need to check your tendency to behave restless, nervous and timid at times. This year brilliant opportunities will come your way but you need to grab them before others. Financial gains will accrue from past investments. A wonderful period to do things that you enjoy and make you feel good. A distant journey for pleasure or pilgrimage seems likely later in the year. Your health will remain good but health of an aged family member will become a matter of concern. New friendship and contacts developed during this period will be highly worthwhile. The months of February, April, August and October will be eventful.

July 24: Influenced by number 6 and the planet Venus. You are highly energetic, independent, ambitious and charming person. You are fond of socializing with people, who are well educated, intelligent and hold important positions in the society. You can easily make friends, but you need to check your tendency to behave moody, stubborn and lazy at times. The year promises to bring you physical as well as financial benefits. Your energy will be high and will bring you immense gains. Speculation in real estate will yield handsome returns. Distant travel will be undertaken for business purpose as well as pleasure. Children need to concentrate more on their career. Health despite some initial hiccups will be more or less fine. You need to spend time on meditation and yoga for remarkable gains. The months of January, October and July will be highly significant and result oriented.

July 25: Governed by number 7 and the planet Neptune.

You are independent, brilliant, quick, confident and friendly person. You are very cheerful and pleasant person and posses as excellent sense of humor. You dislike office politics, arguments and confrontation, but you need to check your tendency to behave jealous, introvert and selfish at times. The coming year promises new hope and possibilities. Your gains will commensurate according to your efforts, but luck will definitely be on our side. Your imagination and skills will do wonders for you and your creativity will be at all time high. Your best opportunities will develop through your association with people who hold position of authority. Sudden gains and losses are foreseen, therefore do not indulge into hasty speculation. Children will bring happy news later in the year. The month of March, April, September and November will be eventful months.

July 26: Ruled by number 8 and the planet Saturn. You are assertive, cheerful, confident, authoritative and enthusiastic person. You are gifted with strong intuition, a lot of talent and a remarkable imagination.

You are simple and honest, but you need to control your tendency to behave erratic, hypocrite and ungrateful at times. This year investments will bring you fresh gains and you will spend more on luxuries and other comforts. Romantic entanglement

will be pleasant and chances to enter into a matrimonial alliance will be very strong. Religious feelings will arise making you embark on a pilgrimage later in the year. Expect gifts and goodies both in cash and kind, but some unexpected expenses will take you by surprise. The months of January, April, October and November will especially be significant.

July 27: Influenced by number 9 and the planet Mars, you are dynamic, courageous, energetic, warm hearted and a religious person. You are a great admirer of music and literature. You are research oriented and have a strong determination, but you need to check your tendency to behave jealous, lazy and erratic at times. This year you should plan things well in advance to reap benefits. Efforts that you put during this period will bring desired results in the long run.

Favorable period for property investment. Romance will be on top of your list. There seem to be chances too of a new arrival as well. Your financial condition will improve as you pickup job involving higher responsibility and position. Some exhilarating news from distant relations will boost up the spirits of the entire family. Travel and journey will be pleasurable. The months of June, August and October will be significant for you.

July 28: Governed by number 1, and the Sun, you are original, active, responsible, trustworthy and a very simple person. You are highly talented and fond of accepting challenges, but you need to control your tendency to dominate, overspend and behave destructive at times. This year long awaited promotions and monetary benefits will finally be yours.

Financially you will face some problems initially, but things will become better later in the year. This is an excellent period to develop new contacts and revive old ones. Travelling will be undertaken for attending auspicious events. Avoid entering into any financial joint ventures and stay away from speculation. Wedding bells will ring for those eligible towards the end of the year. The months of February, June, October and November will be highly important.

July 29: Ruled by number 2 and the moon, you are a simple, responsible, trustworthy, creative, intelligent and a talented person. You have a sharp mind, which is constantly searching for new ideas, but you need to control your tendency to behave restless and stubborn at times. You'll start few new venture, and your income would be from several sources. The people you would meet through your work would inspire you to do your best. Good flow of finances would improve your living comforts and savings. An infatuation with the opposite sex would come as a surprise, but would add spice to your life. The health of your parents will cause some concern, but there is nothing to be worried about. The months of February, March, June and August will be highly important.

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Spiritual Awareness

July 23-29, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info