Popular social networking websites Facebook and MySpace have come under fire for failing to introduce a help button for children being bullied online.

The outrage comes after rival networking site Bebo adopted the button that allows users to contact trained child protection officers and also provides details of local police and links to 10 other sources of help.

Jim Gamble, from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), criticised MySpace and Facebook for not following the same example of Bebo.

He said there was "no legitimate reason" for not doing so and that social networking sites were raking in money through advertising by attracting children and teenagers to join.

"We applaud that but do not forget while you do that there is a responsibility, a duty of care, to the young and the vulnerable," The BBC quoted him as saying.

He added, "[The button] is tiny and does not take up any significant real estate. The bottom line is there is no legitimate reason for not taking it and placing it on a site."

Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, also said: "I can see no reason why other sites would not consider adopting the same approach and would encourage them to embed the Ceop Report button for the benefit of all users."

A Facebook spokesman, on the other hand, explained: "The safety of Facebook users is the top priority for the company, which is why we have invested in the most robust reporting system to support our 300 million users.

"We also work closely with police forces in the UK and around the world to create a safe environment. Our teams are manned by trained staff in two continents giving 24-hour support in 70 languages.

"We look forward to hearing about the experience of Bebo using the Ceop button and will take account of their experience in any future evaluation of our reporting systems."

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20091118/854/ttc-facebook-myspace-slammed-for-not-int.html

Comments

"The centre will also include labs for process and applications development for other specialty materials technology areas, including fluorine products and nylon materials," the company said in a release.

The centre is expected to employ 100 people in five years, it added. Honeywell will invest $34 million in an existing property to develop the centre at Gurgaon.

"This centre will allow us to conduct development closer to our end customers, while at the same time tapping the recognised engineering talent of India," said Andreas Kramvis, president and chief executive of Honeywell Specialty Materials.

Comments

The Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday gave the impression that it was merely interested in the gradual improvement in relations between India and Pakistan but was not trying to interfere with the process.

The indication came from “China hopes for a gradual improvement in the relations between India and Pakistan. As long as it is good for the stability of the region, China will support the relevant moves,” Qin Gang, the spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry, said at the regulator press briefing on Thursday.

Qin was replying to a question about what China considered its role to be in the India-Pakistan relationship. The question emerged from a part in the joint statement issued by China and United States, which said that the two countries supported improvement of relations between India and Pakistan.

“We believe that India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia” Qin said and went on to explain that China highly values its own relationship with them.

Qin said there was no talk about the India-US nuclear agreement during the visit of the US president Barack Obama, which ended on Wednesday.

“To the best of my knowledge, this issue was not touched upon during two Presidents discussions,” he said. But he reiterated China’s position saying that the “relevant countries” are free to enjoy the right for peaceful use of nuclear energy as along as they adhered to the objective of non-proliferation.

He did not give a direct reply to a question on whether China had dispute on the land boundary with just one country, India. Qin said that the dispute with India was “more pronounced” but he did not have information about land border disputes with other countries.

This is interesting because the Chinese media reported on Thursday that China has settled its land boundary dispute with Vietnam, It had earlier said that the boundary dispute with Russia has been fully settled.

Qin said China struck to its principal on “common but differentiated responsibilities” among the rich and developing countries on the issue of emissions and climate change. Beijing was involved in fruitful discussions with the United States for resolving the climate problem, but it was not likely to deviate from its stand on the issue, he said.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-wants-improved-Indo-Pak-ties-but-denies-interference/articleshow/5247997.cms

Comments

US President Barack Obama has said Israel's approval of 900 extra housing units at a settlement in East Jerusalem could lead to a "dangerous" situation.

Mr Obama told Fox News that additional settlement construction made it harder for Israel to make peace in the region and "embitters the Palestinians".

The settlement of Gilo has been built on land Israel captured in 1967.

The Palestinians have refused to attend peace talks until Israel stops building settlements on occupied territory.

The Israeli government disputes that East Jerusalem is occupied territory, and therefore refuses to include annexed areas as part of any accommodation of Mr Obama's past calls for "restraint" in settlement construction.

Nearly 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built on occupied territory since 1967. They are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

In the interview with Fox News, Mr Obama stressed that Israel's security was "a vital national interest to the United States", but warned that its policies were complicating his administration's efforts to revive the peace process.

"I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel's security, I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbours," he said.

"I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous," he added.

Israeli media said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected a request from Mr Obama to freeze the work at Gilo.

I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel's security US President Barack Obama

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8366596.stm

Comments

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked people not to consider him as future prime minister saying nobody could predict the future.

"Please don't consider me as the future prime minister. Nobody can predict the future and what lay in store. Anybody can become the prime minister," he said interacting with about 1500 students at a college here.

Rahul reacted in this manner when some students referred to him as the future prime minister.

He said the current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was doing a good job.

Replying to a question on terrorism, the Congress said the country was dealing with the issue in accordance with the law.

Rahul also answered questions on global warming, reservations and other issues.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Please-dont-consider-me-future-PM-Rahul-Gandhi/articleshow/5243318.cms

Comments

New Delhi: In yet another startling revelation in the ongoing Headley-Rana terror probe, it has come to light that two employees of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi had helped the two suspected Lashkar operatives during their stay in the city.

Reports said on Tuesday that a High Commission officer had provided David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana with a satellite phone, which they used to make calls to Pakistan during their stay in the national capital.

Moreover, the phone number of Headley and Rana, while they were in India, have been identified as 99212473 and 98208053 respectively.

MEA to probe Headley, Rana visa angle

The revelation came even as the Ministry of External Affairs ordered a probe into how Headley and Rana were provided visas by the Indian Consulate in Chicago.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said his ministry was looking into the issue and a probe will be conducted to find out why the duo was issued visas.

Normally, the procedure is that applications are made in the US and approved here in Delhi.

Headley was arrested in the US by the FBI last month for plotting terror attacks to be carried out in India and Denmark.

The duo has visited India on a number of occasions between 2006-09. Apart from staying in five star hotels in places like Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Lucknow, Headley and Rana had also stayed with some "private parties" who are being questioned by security agencies.

Bollywood connection

According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Headley and Rana closely knew eight Bollywood personalities, including two actresses.

The NIA believes that they were introduced to the film personalities by Rahul Bhatt, son of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.

Moreover, police in Pune is now claiming that Headley had even visited the very upmarket OSHO Commune that’s located in city’s Koregaon Park area.

Source: http://www.zeenews.com/news579678.html

Comments

While China has blamed New Delhi for trying to provoke Beijing by orchestrating Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama's controversial visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India has rubbished the allegation.

"The Dalai Lama went to southern Tibet at this critical moment probably because of pressure from India. By doing so, he can please the country that has hosted him for years," the People's Daily quoted Hu Shisheng, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, as saying.

The report published in China's state-run newspaper Global times even said that India seems to have forgotten the lessons of 1962 war.

"India may have forgotten the lesson of 1962, when its repeated provocation resulted in military clashes warning. India is on this wrong track again...When the conflict gets sharper and sharper, the Chinese government will have to face it and solve it in a way India has designed," Hu said.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, on Monday denied Chinese charges, pointing out that New Delhi does not deal with the travels of religious figures.

"The Dalai Lama is free to travel anywhere in India... I have not heard the suggestion comes from us as we do not deal with the spiritual travels of spiritual leaders. He has to visit his flock as he sees fit," Tharoor told the India Economic Summit.

He added that he was "sure that the initiative (to visit Tawang) would have come from him".

Tharoor also said that India had been "very generous" by giving over "58,000 business visas" to the Chinese.

"As far as our basic policy is concerned, we would certainly be hesitant to offer employment to a foreigner for a job which could be done by an Indian in India," said Tharoor.

Earlier, addressing the mass at Arunachal's Tawang, Dalai Lama said Beijing's accusations that his visit was anti-China and damaging to India-China relations are "baseless".

"My visit to Tawang is non-political and aimed at promoting universal brotherhood and nothing else," the Nobel Peace laureate had said.

Source: http://sify.com/news/china-says-india-has-forgotten-lessons-of-1962-war-news-international-jljrOccgbae.html

Comments

At least 40 world leaders have said they will attend climate change talks in Denmark next month, but there are still fears that there will be few tangible results after preparatory meetings ended with scant progress.

The weeklong talks in Barcelona, which ended on Friday, exposed the divide between rich and developing nations on sharing the burden of proposed cuts in emission of gases believed to cause global warming.

Yvo de Boer, the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said that inviting the world leaders to Copenhagen for the December 7-18 talks could help overcome any unresolved issues.

"My understanding is that 40 heads of state have indicated their intention to be present," he said.

They include Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, as well as leaders of African and Caribbean nations.

Delegates have suggested that any deal could include a statement of long-term objectives, along with a series of supplemental decisions on technology transfers, rewards for halting deforestation, and building infrastructure in poor countries to adapt to global warming.

'Political deal' row

But developing nations have been angered by suggestions from rich nations at Barcelona that a "political deal" be done in Copenhagen, with another six to 12 months then taken to draw up a legal binding text.

"Developed countries are acting as a brake towards any meaningful progress" Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping of Sudan, the chair of the Group of 77 and China, representing poor nations, said.

African nations had boycotted some of the talks on Tuesday in protest at the suggestion.

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Barcelona, said: "The polar ice caps are receding, Africa is likely to face more droughts, other places will face floods, coastal states are looking at rising sea levels.

"With a legally binding agreement at least a year away scientists are warning every delay makes a solution even harder."

Dessima Williams of Grenada, which was representing small island states which say they risk being swamped by rising sea levels, said that any deal would have to be legally binding.

"Lives and the very existence of whole nations are at stake," she said.

De Boer said that there was too little time to produce a full legal text at Copenhagen.

But he said that the meeting should at least set 2020 emissions goals for all rich nations, agree on actions by the poor to slow their rising emissions, and approve ways to raise billions in funding.

"I believe that the US can commit to a number in Copenhagen," he said.

Slow progress

The US is still to present its position or suggest emissions targets because of the slow progress of climate legislation through congress.

The aim of the negotiations has been to broker an agreement building on the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Without a new one, there will be no international regulation governing carbon emissions.

Speaking on Friday, Kevin Conrad, the Papua New Guinea delegate at the Barcelona talks, said: "Part of the frustration is that a deal is so close ... all the elements are there.

"But it's absolutely conceivable for senior people to come together and spend a week and clean all this up."

UN scientists say that rich countries must cut carbon emissions by 25 per cent to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020 to prevent the Earth's temperatures from rising two degrees Celsius above its average temperature before the industrial era began 150 years ago.

in depth

Divided over a climate deal
'Climate change a conflict risk'
Malawi's winds of change
Burning issue of Spain's wetlands
Staying in tune with the planet
Haitians face climate despair
India's disappearing coastline
Kenya drought 'has spared no one'
The 'ground zero' of climate change
Central Asian lake under threat

World total CO2 emissions

Since 1751, roughly 315 billion tonnes (metric tons) of carbon have been released to the atmosphere from the consumption of fossil fuels and cement production. (1)

Half of these emissions have occurred since the mid 1970s
The 2004 global fossil-fuel CO2 emission estimate of 7,910 million tonnes of carbon is an all-time high
The 2004 number is a 5.4% increase over 2003

NOTE: This chart shows carbon emissions, not CO2. The atomic weight of carbon is 12 and oxygen is 16. Therefore, the atomic weight of carbon dioxide is 44. Based on that ratio, and assuming complete combustion, 1 kilo of carbon combines with 2.667 kilos of oxygen to produce 3.667 kilos of carbon dioxide.

Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/11/200911741650511736.html

Comments

The episode of the popular series, which pits well-known chefs against each others, has been filmed at the White House and will be aired in the New Year. Many of the ingredients for the meals prepared in the show were chosen from the recently planted White House vegetable garden.

Michelle agreed to take part in the show to promote her campaign of healthy living. During the show, which attracts an audience of 1.5m in the US, she will be seen talking to the chefs about the importance of getting children to eat vegetables.

It is the first time a First Lady, or even a member of the White House staff, has featured in a TV reality show. The move is likely to open up the White House to more criticism over its increasing links to Hollywood.

Last week it was revealed that a list of visitors to the White House in the first nine months of the Obama presidency was peppered with celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington. PTI KKR VSS.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20091106/388/ten-michelle-obama-to-star-in-reality-sh.html

Comments

U.S. President Barack Obama was voted in as America's 44th President one year ago, on a balmy evening on Nov 4th, a decision that was hailed by world leaders, global citizens and a country that was reeling under the after effects of the Bush administration. Though this decision met with disapproval by a fair percentage of detractors, mostly those who had praised John McCain's candidacy as the answer to America's myriad problems, Obama won the hearts of millions of Americans and billions of people the world over, who watched his acceptance speech peppered with liberal (pun unintended) doses of "Yes, we can" with moist eyes and hands on their hearts.

Obama's foray into the public eye was his interview on Oprah, where she was quick to proclaim him as the answer to all the ills and malaises that plagued the country, much before he announced his candidacy to the office of the most powerful man in the world. Seen as an articulate, well-read man who could hold the audience's attention with just one line, Obama's popularity during the Presidential elections was on display not only on traditional media like TV and newspapers, but also extensively felt across the net. There was the Obama fan girl phenomenon on Youtube, the Vote for Obama campaign on Facebook and his own Twitter account, which sees thousands of new followers everyday.

One year after that historic election, Republicans took back two states run by Democrats. Obama followers would say that this is not a reflection of President Obama's policies or the decline of the honeymoon period with American voters. Does President Obama continue to resonate with the American public? The optimism of Obama's aides may not be stretched as evidenced by the huge fan following he commands on the net.

Some of the decisions he's taken while in office like giving aid to Pakistan and the ongoing health reform debate have been widely criticized and questioned, but his popularity doesn't seem to be waning at all. On the contrary, it seems to be on the upswing. His secret mantra is his ability to reach out to people, say experts. He connects with men and women, young and old, domestic and foreign, rich and poor - be it any divide, he's managed to bridge every one, because he listens, even to his detractors. He took to Twitter on his first anniversary to tweet about the messages pouring in, be it congratulatory or criticism. He seems to have understood that there are various platforms on which to connect with people and doesn’t restrict himself to the four walls of the White Office and its dais. And he uses every single one of them to reach out.

He still has a good 3 years left in which he hopes to bring in a lot of reform and bring back the country to its old glory, but that aside, Barack Obama is all poised to go down in history as the net savvy leader of our times.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/242/20091105/1342/twl-obama-the-net-savvy-prez.html

Comments

For the beauty and cosmetics industry, it seems but a short leap from Hippocrates' ancient dictum 'Let thy food be thy medicine' to the new-age fad of facelifts through foods and beverages laced with substances like collagen.

This route to beauty has been gaining ground over the last two years and is being accorded the status of a miracle worker. It even goes under the fancy tag of 'nutri-cosmetics'.

Foods that come under this label are also often called internal beauty aids. And the list of such aids is getting longer by the day.

A country such as ours will be the next stop for such products. Currently in some other parts of the world, water enhanced with plant extracts and vitamins is marketed as 'drinkable skin care'. It is purported to moisturise the skin and to improve its elasticity. Other fellow travellers on the bandwagon include collagen marshmallows (to plump the skin), anti ageing jam and "skin treatment infused" gummy bears that supposedly make the skin more elastic.

The new kid on the block is collagen coffee. It is touted as a wrinkle remover. Among the substances being added to foods and beverages for beauty enhancement are pomegranate, green tea, biotin, niacin and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Of course, the cosmetics and beauty industry will try any gimmick to boost revenues. The moot point is whether the addition of collagen and other substances to foods and beverages is simply a gimmick or does it lead to an enhanced and youthful look? And does it have any harmful side effects?

There is no reliable data to either refute or to justify the claims. The beauty industry is not renowned for conducting rigorous clinical trials. On the other hand, nutritional science says that collagen when ingested orally as a food will be reduced by the digestive process into small bits of protein. These small bits of protein do not have any special benefit for the skin. The same inferences seem valid for many of the other nutri-cosmetics.

Some experts believe that the presence of these special substances occurs in mega doses in the internal beauty aids and they feel that this could be harmful for healthy people who are otherwise in good nutritional condition.

The best course of action for healthy individuals looking to preserve their looks past their youth is to stick to a balanced diet and to get regular exercise. Additionally, they need to sleep adequately and follow some methods to de-stress. This time-tested regimen will probably ensure the same results that they expect from the use of the nutri-cosmetics and at far lower costs. The added advantage is that it will certainly be safer!

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20091024/1248/twl-mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-which-is-t.html

Comments

Incidents of violence against women on mainstream U.S. television has increased by 120 percent in the past five years, with the depiction of teen girls as victims rising by some 400 percent, the Parents Television Council said in a report on Wednesday.

The media watchdog said it was particularly disturbed by the use of violence against women in comedies and said it hoped TV networks and advertisers would stand up against the trend.

"I hope the industry will look at our data and be as shocked as I was," PTC president Tim Winter told reporters.

The report suggested that violent acts against women and teen girls was increasing at rates that far exceed the two percent increase in overall violence that the study found existed on TV between 2004-2009.

The PTC compared prime-time programming on networks ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox in February and May 2004 and the same months in 2009. It said every network except ABC showed a dramatic increase in stories that included beatings, violent threats, shooting, rape, stabbing and torture.

The PTC findings reflect a sharp rise in the number of crime series on TV, such as the popular CBS franchise "CSI" which is one of America's most-watched drama series.

But the report singled out Fox, saying the network allowed violence against women to be trivialized through punch lines in its satirical animated comedies "Family Guy" and "American Dad." It cited one May 2009 episode of "Family Guy" in which a character gets divorced under a fictional 18th century procedure -- by shooting his wife dead.

The Parents Television Council, founded in 1995 to highlight children's exposure to sex, violence and profanity on television, said it was concerned that U.S. television was contributing to an atmosphere in which violence directed at women was viewed as normal.

"The fact is that children are influenced by what they see on TV and that certainly includes media violence," said Melissa Henson, the group's public education director.

A second TV pressure group, TV Watch, accused the PTC of seeking to expand government control over TV output and said parents should have the final say on what their children watch.

"This so-called 'study' is...an attempt to force all television contents to conform to their own beliefs. Parents have the tools to enforce the decisions about their children's viewing," Jim Dyke, executive director of TV Watch said in a statement.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20091029/1509/tls-violence-against-women-female-teens.html

Comments

"Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Any activity by any country in Jammu and Kashmir is illegal and this has been made known to all concerned," Krishna told reporters here in response to a question about Chinese participation in developmental projects in PoK. China is assisting Pakistan in building a mega power project and construction of a highway in Karakoram range in PoK. Chinese President Hu Jintao, during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in Beijing recently, emphasised his country''s commitment to these projects.

Krishna, who held talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi here yesterday, said the matter relating to issuance of visas to Kashmiris was discussed. "They (Chinese side) said they made no discrimination.

We are insisting that there should be a uniform visa norm for Indian nationals," Krishna said. To a poser about India not being seen as assertive vis-a-vis China, he said New Delhi seeks relations with everyone as equal and based on mutual respect, regardless of any nation''s economic or military might.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20091028/1416/tnl-chinese-participation-in-pok-project.html

Comments

The co-ordinated attacks, near the justice and local government ministries and the provincial government HQ, were Baghdad's bloodiest since April 2007.

Suicide bombers detonated two vehicles, a lorry at a busy junction near the two ministries and a car in a parking bay.

US President Barack Obama branded the attacks "hateful and destructive".

These bombings serve no purpose other than the murder of innocent men, women and children

Back to the bad old days for Iraq?

American troops have been called in to help the investigation and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has pledged that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Mr Obama said in a statement: "I strongly condemn these outrageous attacks on the Iraqi people, and send my deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones.

"These bombings serve no purpose other than the murder of innocent men, women and children, and they only reveal the hateful and destructive agenda of those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that they deserve."

Iran's foreign ministry joined international condemnation, saying such actions "aim to wreck stability and the process of reinforcing democratic structures".

'Cowardly terrorism'

The bombs exploded in quick succession at 1030 (0730 GMT) near the heavily-fortified Green Zone, Baghdad's administrative centre, as people headed to work during the rush hour.

Army spokesman Maj Gen Qassim Atta said the lorry was loaded with a tonne of explosives and the car was carrying 700kg (1,500lb) of explosive material.

Traffic restrictions in the street which was hit were eased six months ago and blast walls repositioned, as part of a programme which Mr Maliki had said showed progress in countering insurgents.

Dozens of the dead were said to be employees at the two offices. No-one has yet said they carried out the attack.

DEADLIEST ATTACKS SINCE 2003

Aug 2007: More than 500 killed in attacks on villages near Sinjar
Jul 2007: 150 killed in truck bombing in Tuz Khurmato
Apr 2007: 191 killed in car bombings in Baghdad
Mar 2007: 152 killed in truck bombing in Tal Afar
Feb 2007: 135 killed in truck bombing in Baghdad
Nov 2006: 202 killed in multiple blasts in Baghdad
Mar 2004: 171 killed in bombings in Baghdad and Karbala

Source: News agencies, BBC

As Mr Maliki visited the scene of the attacks on Sunday, he blamed al-Qaeda and supporters of former president Saddam Hussein.

"These cowardly terrorist attacks must not affect the determination of the Iraqi people to continue their struggle against the remnants of the dismantled regime and al-Qaeda terrorists," he said.

Overall, violence has dropped dramatically in Iraq compared to a year ago, although sporadic attacks still continue in several parts of the country.

But correspondents say there are fears that violence may increase as the country heads towards parliamentary elections scheduled for the beginning of next year.

The bombs went off as senior politicians were meeting in central Baghdad to try to break the deadlock over a draft law that would enable elections to take place in January.

The meeting ended without agreement, but will re-convene on Monday.

Last week the Iraqi parliament failed to meet a deadline to pass the legislation because of differences on a number of issues, among them whether to tell voters which candidates are on the party lists.

The US government, which has around 120,000 soldiers stationed in Iraq, says it wants all combat troops out by the end of August 2010 in preparation for a full military withdrawal by 2012.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8325600.stm

Afghan crashes kill 14 Americans

At least 14 Americans have been killed in a series of air crashes in Afghanistan, military officials say.

Four US soldiers died and two were hurt when two helicopters collided mid-air in the south, Nato-led forces said.

In a separate helicopter crash, in western Badghis province, seven US soldiers and three US civilians died.

The US said hostile fire was not believed to be to blame for either incident, but the Taliban said it was behind the Badghis crash.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmedi told the AFP news agency militants had shot down the US helicopter in the Darabam district of the province.

Another 12 Americans and 14 Afghans were also reported to have been injured in that crash.

Col Wayne Shanks, a spokesman for the Nato-led force in Afghanistan, said the authorities were still investigating the incident in Badghis, but "do not believe that enemy action was responsible".

He said the crash happened as troops were carrying out a successful anti-drugs trafficking operation in which 14 "enemy fighters" were killed.

The exact location of the crash in the south of the country has not been confirmed by the US military.

This year has seen the highest death toll of international troops in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001.

There have been dozens of American soldiers among those killed, making up more than half the total foreign troop deaths in the country.

The worst single loss of US life in Afghanistan occurred in June 2005, when a Chinook helicopter was shot down in eastern Kunar province, killing 16 military personnel.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8325362.stm

Comments

Enjoying a glass of white wine on a frequent basis can damage the teeth, something many wine makers and tasters will know first-hand, experts say.

Pale plonk packs an acidic punch that erodes enamel far more than red wine, Nutrition Research reports.

It is not the wine's vintage, origin or alcohol that are key but its pH and duration of contact with the teeth.

Eating cheese at the same time could counter the effects, because it is rich in calcium, the German authors say.

It is the calcium in teeth that the wine attacks.

If you're going to have a glass of wine do so with your meal and leave a break of at least 30 minutes afterwards before you brush your teeth and go to bed
Professor Damien Walmsley of the British Dental Association

In the lab, adult teeth soaked in white wine for a day had a loss of both calcium and another mineral called phosphorus to depths of up to 60 micrometers in the enamel surface, which the researchers say is significant.

Riesling wines tended to have the greatest impact, having the lowest pH.

A "kinder" tooth choice would be a rich red like a Rioja or a Pinot noir, the Johannes Gutenberg University team found.

Power of saliva

Even if people brush their teeth after a night of drinking, over the years repeated exposure could take its toll, say Brita Willershausen and her colleagues.

Indeed, excessive brushing might make matters worse and lead to further loss of enamel.

But they said: "The tradition of enjoying different cheeses for dessert, or in combination with drinking wine, might have a beneficial effect on preventing dental erosion since cheeses contain calcium in a high concentration."

This helps neutralise and boost the remineralising power of saliva to halt the acid attack.

But eating strawberries while supping on your vino or mixing sparkling whites with acid fruit juice to make a bucks fizz may spell trouble because this only adds to the acid attack.

Professor Damien Walmsley, of the British Dental Association, said: "The ability of acidic foods and drinks to erode tooth enamel is well understood, and white wine is recognised as being more erosive than red.

"But it's the way you consume it that's all important. If you're going to have a glass of wine do so with your meal and leave a break of at least 30 minutes afterwards before you brush your teeth and go to bed.

"Consuming wine alongside food, rather than on its own, means the saliva you produce as you chew helps to neutralise its acidity and limits its erosive potential.

"And leaving time before brushing teeth gives the enamel a chance to recover from the acid attack and makes it less susceptible to being brushed away."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8314802.stm

Comments

The Champions Trophy winners start the series in Vadodara on Sunday ranked as the number one side in the world.

But they are missing injured batsmen Michael Clarke and Callum Ferguson.

"I've played some of my best one-day cricket over the last few months. A lot of responsibility is on my shoulders as the number three batsman," he said.

Australia thrashed England 6-1 in a one-day series before heading off to the Champions Trophy in South Africa, where they beat New Zealand in a one-sided final.

The challenge will be how our middle-order batsmen cope with playing spin bowling

Ricky Ponting

"We could not have done better than we did in the last few one-day games, but we have a fresh set of challenges here," added Ponting, who turns 35 in December.

"India has a very good and strong one-day team and we are not underestimating them.

"We are the number one and number two teams in the world and this points to an entertaining and good contest.

"The challenge will be how our middle-order batsmen cope with playing spin bowling."

Ponting also hopes left-arm spinner Jon Holland, who is currently playing for Victoria Bushrangers in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 competition in India, will have an impact after being selected as Nathan Hauritz's understudy.

The 22-year-old has a modest domestic record but has been given a chance to gain international experience.

India, meanwhile, will be boosted by the return of key batsmen Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh from injuries.

India squad: Mahendra Dhoni (capt & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh, Sudeep Tyagi, Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ashish Nehra.

Australia squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wkt), Shane Watson, Cameron White, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jon Holland, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges.

First one-day international: India v Australia
Venue: Vadodara Date: Sunday, 25 October Time: 0330 GMT

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/india/8318301.stm

Comments

"It (Pakistan) has been one of actually using jihadi militants as an instrument of destabilisation in both Afghanistan and India. And we think that's wrong," Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview.

"Let me say one thing very clear to you. We actually have a vision of a peaceful subcontinent. India is not interested in being a threat to Pakistan or any other country," Tharoor said.

"We want good relations with our neighbours. And we actually believe, fundamentally at the strategic level, that a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pakistan is in our interests," he said.

Source: http://www.ptinews.com/news/338087_-Pak-using-jihadi-elements-to-destabilise-India-

Comments

At the age of 16, Babar Ali is perhaps India's youngest school principal who is teaching hundreds of poor students.

In a country where we are in a continuous hunt for heroes and demi-gods to inspire us, the search ends in a small hamlet in West Bengal.

Known for his passion for education, Babar Ali is perhaps India's youngest school principal who is teaching hundreds of poor students of his village in his own backyard.

16-year-old Babar says his only motto in life is 'education for all'. Since 2002, every evening, he has donned the role of a principal at the Anand Siksha Niketan in Gangapur village which makes him India's youngest headmaster. The students line up in Babar's backyard, where he teaches them just the way his teachers teach him in school.

Babar Ali in an interview said that he never wanted to play cricket or soccer when he was young but what he loved the most was enacting the role of a teacher. What started off as child play took serious shape in 2002 when Babar Ali, with the help of his parents, set up a room to teach on his ancestral land.

He also added that when he was in class V, he started the school with eight students. From a humble beginning, the school today provides basic education for almost 800 students with the help of 10 well-qualified teachers. What is most notable is that the students are taught for free as they come from poor families - some even work as maids and cleaners in the mornings and come to attend Babar's school in the afternoon.

But even most of the inspiring stories have some grim realities which Babar has to face daily. The government only provides funds for midday meal and books till class IV and for the expenses he has to depend on donations. He, however, hopes for better support in the coming years so he can make all his fellow students and village kids literate, and able to stand on their own feet.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/242/20091013/1334/tnl-meet-india-s-youngest-headmaster.html

Comments

In a statement, Khandu hoped that China would accept the reality and refrain from laying claim on the hilly tribal state which graduated to electoral democracy in 1975.

"Between the two visits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year and this year, several central ministers including then external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony had reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India and that no power on the earth can snatch it away from India," he said.

Khandu pointed out that President Pratibha Patil also visited the state to endorse the stand of the Union government.

Source:

Comments

He submitted his resignation to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PC - who are yet to accept it - on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old said he was "disgusted by match-fixing allegations made against me and the team."

Younus was attending a hearing to discuss Pakistan's performance in the recent ICC Champions Trophy.

National Assembly committee chairman Jamshed Dasti had alleged that Pakistan deliberately under-performed during the competition - although he later insisted that the committee never intended to make match-fixing allegations against the players.

"We are totally satisfied with the explanation of the team management and board," he said. "The committee is satisfied no match-fixing took place."

Younus told the Reuters news agency: "Yes, I have submitted my resignation. I have told the chairman to go through my resignation and read my point of view."

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt added: "It's an emotional decision and I reject it.

"I hope to convince Younus to revoke his decision, but if he sticks to his stand then the matter will be decided by the PCB's governing council next week on 19 October."

Younus has scored 5,260 runs in 63 Tests - at an average over 50 - since making his debut against Sri Lanka in 2000, and succeeded Shoaib Malik as Pakistan captain in January 2009.

He has also appeared in 194 one-day internationals and led Pakistan to victory at the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in England earlier this year - before retiring from Twenty20 internationals.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/pakistan/8304626.stm

Comments

Ostrom is the first woman to win the Economics Prize, which has been awarded since 1969.

"The research of Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson demonstrates that economic analysis can shed light on most forms of social organisation," the jury said.

Ostrom won half the 10-million-kronor (1.42-million-dollar, 980,000-euro) prize "for her analysis of economic governance" especially relating to the management of common property or property under common control.

Her work challenging the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and should be either regulated by central authorities or privatised, it added.

A professor at Indiana University whose name has circulated as a possible winner in recent years, Ostrom told Swedish television her first reaction was "great surprise and appreciation," and said she was "in shock" over being the first woman to clinch the honour.

She conducted numerous studies of user-managed fish stocks, pastures, woods, lakes and groundwater basins, and concluded that the outcomes are "more often than not, better than predicted by standard theories," the jury said.

Williamson was honoured with the other half "for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm."

He has argued that hierarchical organisations such as firms represent alternative governance structures, which differ in their approaches to resolving conflicts of interest.

"A key prediction of Williamson's theory, which has also been supported empirically, is ... that the propensity of economic agents to conduct their transactions inside the boundaries of a firm increases along with the relationship-specific features of their assets," it said.

The Economics Prize is the only one of the six Nobel prizes not created in Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's 1896 will — it was created much later to celebrate the 1968 tricentary of the Swedish central bank and was first awarded in 1969.

Last year, the honour went to US economist Paul Krugman, a prolific New York Times columnist and fierce critic of Washington's economic policies, for his "analysis of trade patterns."

The Economics Prize wraps up the 2009 Nobel season.

Americans dominated the awards this year.

For the five Nobel prizes announced last week — for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace — nine of the 11 laureates were US citizens, including US President Barack Obama who sensationally won the prestigious Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

The Literature Prize went to German writer Herta Mueller for her work inspired by her life under Nicolae Ceausescu's dictatorship in Romania.

This year was also a record year for women laureates, with four honoured: Herta Mueller for literature; Australian-American Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider of the United States were awarded the Nobel Medicine Prize; and Ada Yonath of Israel was one of three scientists recognised for her work in chemistry.

The Nobel prizes, founded by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, were first awarded in 1901.

Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, died childless in 1896, dedicating his vast fortune to create "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."

Laureates receive a gold medal, a diploma and the prize sum at formal prize ceremonies held in Stockholm and Oslo on the anniversary of Nobel's death, December 10.

Source: http://www.dayafterindia.com/oct109/4.html

Comments

The Nobel committee did President Obama no favors by prematurely awarding him its peace prize. As he himself acknowledged, he has not done anything yet on the scale that would normally merit such an award — and it dismays me that the most important prize in the world has been devalued in this way.

It is not the president’s fault, though, that the Europeans are so relieved at his style of leadership, in contrast to that of his predecessor, that they want to do all they can to validate and encourage it. I thought the president showed great grace in accepting the prize not for himself but “as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.”

All that said, I hope Mr. Obama will take this instinct a step further when he travels to Oslo on Dec. 10 for the peace prize ceremony. Here is the speech I hope he will give:

“Let me begin by thanking the Nobel committee for awarding me this prize, the highest award to which any statesman can aspire. As I said on the day it was announced, ‘I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize.’ Therefore, upon reflection, I cannot accept this award on my behalf at all.

“But I will accept it on behalf of the most important peacekeepers in the world for the last century — the men and women of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, to liberate Europe from the grip of Nazi fascism. I will accept this award on behalf of the American soldiers and sailors who fought on the high seas and forlorn islands in the Pacific to free East Asia from Japanese tyranny in the Second World War.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American airmen who in June 1948 broke the Soviet blockade of Berlin with an airlift of food and fuel so that West Berliners could continue to live free. I will accept this award on behalf of the tens of thousands of American soldiers who protected Europe from Communist dictatorship throughout the 50 years of the cold war.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American soldiers who stand guard today at outposts in the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan to give that country, and particularly its women and girls, a chance to live a decent life free from the Taliban’s religious totalitarianism.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American men and women who are still on patrol today in Iraq, helping to protect Baghdad’s fledgling government as it tries to organize the rarest of things in that country and that region — another free and fair election.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the thousands of American soldiers who today help protect a free and Democratic South Korea from an unfree and Communist North Korea.

“I will accept this award on behalf of all the American men and women soldiers who have gone on repeated humanitarian rescue missions after earthquakes and floods from the mountains of Pakistan to the coasts of Indonesia. I will accept this award on behalf of American soldiers who serve in the peacekeeping force in the Sinai desert that has kept relations between Egypt and Israel stable ever since the Camp David treaty was signed.

“I will accept this award on behalf of all the American airmen and sailors today who keep the sea lanes open and free in the Pacific and Atlantic so world trade can flow unhindered between nations.

“Finally, I will accept this award on behalf of my grandfather, Stanley Dunham, who arrived at Normandy six weeks after D-Day, and on behalf of my great-uncle, Charlie Payne, who was among those soldiers who liberated part of the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald.

“Members of the Nobel committee, I accept this award on behalf of all these American men and women soldiers, past and present, because I know — and I want you to know — that there is no peace without peacekeepers.

“Until the words of Isaiah are made true and lasting — and nations never again lift up swords against nations and never learn war anymore — we will need peacekeepers. Lord knows, ours are not perfect, and I have already moved to remedy inexcusable excesses we’ve perpetrated in the war on terrorism.

“But have no doubt, those are the exception. If you want to see the true essence of America, visit any U.S. military outpost in Iraq or Afghanistan. You will meet young men and women of every race and religion who work together as one, far from their families, motivated chiefly by their mission to keep the peace and expand the borders of freedom.

“So for all these reasons — and so you understand that I will never hesitate to call on American soldiers where necessary to take the field against the enemies of peace, tolerance and liberty — I accept this peace prize on behalf of the men and women of the U.S. military: the world’s most important peacekeepers.”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11friedman.html?em

Comments

Finally the well sealed secret about the Bigg Boss 3 is revealed as the top ten contestant names are out of the dark. The channel and production tried a lot to keep mum about their participants but the curtains have risen.

“The top ten contestants include, Sherlyn Chopra, Claudia Ciesla, Poonam Dhillon, Tanaaz and Bhakhityaar Irani, Kamaal R Khan, Farah Naaz, Vindoo Dara Singh, Shamita Shetty and Lovleen Mishra,” chirps the little birdie from the sets.

Revealing more about the inmates our source informs, “There are going to be in total 14 contestants in the show. Though all of them are not yet revealed. It’s gonna be a big game with Big B and the new house which is very posh and totally different from the first two season.” “The house has lots of space and a very modern look. The girl’s room have pink colour while the guys will be of blue. There is a different room made all together for the contestants to perform their task which is huge. There will be lots more fun and drama that can be expected for this season,” concludes the source.

The time will only decide of how bigger the Bigg Boss gets with the TRP’s!!!

Source: http://entertainment.oneindia.in/television/top-stories/news/2009/bigg-boss-3-contestants-061009.html

Comments

After a severe drought, what led to the massive scale of floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh? Blame it on the rain, you could say. Irrigation officials say these are possibly the worst floods in this area in 10,000 years. But what caused this disaster? Could it have been better managed?

Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Krishna and Guntur are the worst affected districts. Overall, at least 18 lakh people in nearly 400 villages of Andhra Pradesh have been affected by the floods. 180 villages in Kurnool, 89 in Mahbubnagar, 100 in Guntur and 22 in Nalgonda are in bad shape due to the flood waters.

Five hundred fifty five army men, 6 choppers, 1000 swimmers and 254 boats are involved in the relief work.

Unprecedented rains in North Karnataka on Thursday flooded several districts, cutting off areas like Bijapur, Bagalkot and Bellary. Karwar for instance got 50 cm of rain in a single day, locals called it the heaviest downpour in 50 years.

The waters inundated the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers and the Karnataka government released upto 8 lakh cusecs of water from the Almatti and Narayanpur dams, in a single day.

From the last week of September, Andhra Pradesh was experiencing heavy rains, some areas got over 30 cm in a single day. This brought heavy inflows into major projects in Krishna Basin like Jurala, Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar, Prakasam Barrage and Sunkesula.

Early on Friday, reports started coming in of water levels rising dangerously in the border town of Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh.

By evening, the water level had crossed the danger mark in Srisailam dam... in a single day on Friday, the reservoir had received over 25 lakh cusecs of water in 12 hours, whereas it is designed to get no more than 13.6 lakh cusecs.

On Saturday, the maximum water limit was crossed in Srisailam, Jurala and Sunkesula projects causing inundation in many villages in the backwaters. Kurnool town and several villages in Kurnool, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts were flooded.

From the Srisailam dam, the waters were flowing into Nagarjunasagar dam... and on Sunday morning, 10.85 lakh cusecs were released to keep the masonry dam safe.

The waters that reached Prakasam Barrage in the coastal Krishna district on Monday have submerged hundreds of villages. Prakasam Barrage has never received such huge amounts of water in the last 100 years.

Critics point out that the Andhra Pradesh government could have better anticipated and prepared for systematic release of waters from the Sukeshu, Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar dams before matters got really out of hand.

The Andhra Pradesh government however points out that it is the first time in history that the scale of floods has been so massive.

"This is known as PMF or possible maximum flood, which happens once in 10,000 years," said Geetha Reddy, AP Information Minister.

The Met department has said there is likely to be a letup in rains and Karnataka has said they will release minimum waters. So, the waters in the major dams may be safely regulated.

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/andhra_pradesh_worst_floods_in_10000_years.php

Comments

Julia Roberts wraps herself in a shawl for the shooting of her film, Eat, Pray, Love at a village called Mirzapur in Haryana.

The Hollywood actress is currently staying at the Pataudi Palace -- 60 km from Delhi with her twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus.

Oscar nominated Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) and Oscar nominated Viola Davis (Doubt) will also reportedly participate in India shooting. The cast includes Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Paris Film Festival award winner Billy Crudup (Almost Famous), Golden Globe winner James Franco

Source: http://movies.rediff.com/report/2009/sep/28/julia-roberts-in-eat-pray-love.htm

Comments

After months of gloom that’s accompanied slowing business, tighter budgets and job losses in Bangalore’s much vaunted IT sector, Goddess Lakshmi, the daughter of Durga, appears to have smiled on the software-polis.

Bengalee Association, Bangalore’s oldest social forum of the community which also hosts the city’s biggest Durga Puja celebrations, said raising funds had been easier this year compared to 2008, when the festive season was severely hit by the global meltdown that had begun impacting India.

“Last year, we felt the pinch of the recession,” said Achintya Lal Roy, president of the association, which is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. “This year that has gone.”

The association will spend between Rs 40 lakh and Rs 45 lakh on the festivities, about Rs 5-10 lakh more than last year. “It was very difficult to reach it (the target) last year,” Roy said.

The festive cheer reflects the steady, if a tad slow, economic revival in India’s software capital. Sectors such as real estate, auto and entertainment — which rode the IT boom all these years — have begun picking up in recent months.

The real estate and auto sectors are showing signs of recovery. Revenue from property registrations fell nearly 18 per cent to Rs 1,980 crore in 2008-09 from Rs 2,408 crore the previous year — and hit the city’s entertainment and hospitality sectors as people slashed spending.

Now, with the economy slowly beginning to get back on track, many are willing to revisit shelved plans. “More (real estate) deals are closing,” confirmed Pankaj Malhotra, who runs Golden Nest Real Estate Consultants in Bangalore.

M.R. Uday, general manager of Classic Automotives Bangalore Pvt Ltd, a used-car dealer, reckoned nearly 60 per cent of his customers were from the IT sector.

“Now it’s a mix,” he said, adding that business had picked up slowly since May and he was now selling some 200 cars a month, which, however, was lower than what it was before the downturn began. It was at least 40 per cent more over the last three years, he said.

Corporates admit it’s not quite splurging, but the slowdown-hit software city is gradually going back to its spending ways, which has meant good news for Puja organisers.

“We have got a pretty good response, both from the corporate sector and individuals,” said Arindam Ray, cultural secretary of the Sarjapur Outer Ring Road Bengali Association (SORRBA), a newly formed association that’s celebrating its first Puja. “We didn’t see much of a problem.”

Less than a year old, SORRBA is located on one of the city’s IT corridors and nearly 80 per cent of its members are from the sector, Ray said.

At least 34 pandals have been set up across the city, a couple of them new ones, said Bengalee Association’s Achintya Roy.

“If (the) IT (sector) as such doesn’t pick up, it’s very tough for events to happen in Bangalore,” said Sudipto Das, who handles cultural events at the Sarathi Socio-Cultural Trust, which organises the Puja at Koramangala, a locality home to many IT firms and professionals.

“Finance is tough this year also,” said Das, adding that the number of small sponsors “has reduced a lot”.

The Koramangala puja, which sees at least 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh visitors over the four days, will spend around Rs 18-19 lakh as against Rs 22 lakh last year in an attempt to optimise costs, he said.

Tarun Pal, a Calcutta-based craftsman whose family has been selling idols in Bangalore for 40 years, said competition had increased but business hadn’t really improved. This year, he’s managed to sell only 18 Durga idols, which, he reckons, is because people have slashed budgets and are not placing orders like they used to. “When business was good, we would sell at least 25 idols.”

But the scale of festivities has not really dimmed in the city, home to about 3 lakh Bengalis. Some of the shows lined up include performances by Nachiketa, Kabir Suman, Antara Chowdhury, Lopamudra Mitra and acts like the Bangalore-based Bangla rock bands Backbenchers and Aurko.

“It’s not just Bengalis who participate,” said UK Banik, a founder-member of the South Bangalore Cultural Association, which has been celebrating Durga Puja for the past 13 years. “Most people in the locality join us.”

Source:http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090927/jsp/nation/story_11547193.jsp

Comments

"I suggested to both ISRO and NASA to work on future mission of Chandrayaan-II using moon surface robotic penetrator during my recent visit to California Institute of Technology in US, where NASA scientists presented the findings of Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) to Indian scientists," Kalam told students during an interaction on Saturday.

The missile man was in Mumbai to inaugurate the national science seminar on 'Chandrayaan: Promises and Concerns' for school students, organised by the National Council of Science Museum.

He said more validations are being carried out by the scientists on India's Moon Impact Probe (MIP) about the presence of water on lunar surface.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kalam-advises-isro-nasa-on-chandrayaanii/521893/

Comments

Ever so shy when it comes to his personal life and plaudits, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who turned 77 Saturday, said he was indebted to the people of India for the faith they have reposed in him, even as he treated the accompanying delegation to a cake.

'I am grateful to the people of India, who have given me this unique opportunity to serve them,' the prime minister said amid birthday wishes from journalists.

'They (Indians) let me serve them for five years and reposed confidence in me for another term and that is a debt I can never repay. The only way I can redeem myself to an extent is by rededicating myself to the service of the nation,' he said.

'I would pray to god to give me enough strength to keep serving the people,' said the prime minister, who was looking rather tired due to the lack of sleep because of his hectic schedule in Pittsburgh.

Born on Sep 26, 1932, in Gah village in what is now known as Chakwal district in Punjab, Pakistan, the prime minister celebrated his birthday in Geneva on way to New Delhi after attending the G20 summit in Pittsburgh.

Manmohan Singh's spouse Gursharan Kaur, whom he married in 1958, and their second daughter Daman Singh are accompanying him on this tour. Daman is a social worker and writer.

In Pittsburgh their US-based youngest daughter Amrit Singh spent some time with the family. Amrit Singh is a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in New York City.

His eldest daughter Upinder Singh is a professor of history at Delhi University.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090926/890/twl-birthday-boy-manmohan-says-he-s-inde.html

Comments

Reports said riot police used pepper gas and fired rubber bullets at protesters on a march near the venue.

Demonstrations were widely expected and thousands of extra police are on duty. The previous G20 meeting, in London in April, was marred by clashes.

Economic stability, financial regulation, climate change and bankers' bonuses are set to top the G20 agenda.

The clashes are thought to have begun after hundreds of protesters tried to march, without permission, towards the convention centre where the summit is being held.

'Party over'

With many major economies beginning to climb out of recession - attention will turn to when and how to withdraw government stimulus packages.

Cracking down on bankers' bonuses has popular appeal with the public, it is expected that an agreement will be reached on how that might be achieved.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said G20 countries had reached a consensus on the "basic outline" of a proposal to limit pay and bonuses by the end of 2009.

Each country would set their own standards, he said, but that these would be overseen by the G20's Financial Stability Board - made up of central bankers and regulators.

Earlier, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling warned bankers that the "party was over" and they must realise that the world has changed.

Balance growth

A spokesman for the White House said that financial regulatory reform was the most important agenda item for summit, but that addressing global economic imbalances was also a priority.

President Barack Obama has led a campaign to smooth out imbalances in the flow of global capital to try to secure greater long-term economic stability.

The US proposal calls on economies such as China, Brazil and India to boost domestic consumption in order to lower their trade surpluses.

Meanwhile the US and Europe would encourage more saving to reduce long-term budget deficits.

Director of the US president's National Economic Council, Larry Summers, said that a "balancing global growth approach" of said that there would have to be changes in

"The US can't, should not and won't continue to experience the consumption-led growth driving very high volumes of imports and lending impulse to the rest of the world economy," he told the BBC.

"That's not a sustainable financial situation for the US and that's why we're in the process of adjusting."

Other discussions will involve the continuation of talks over whether countries such as China, India and Brazil should have greater say on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Comments

Handout picture provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation shows the surface of the moon taken by Moon Impact Probe, after separating from India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, November 14, 2008. India's first lunar mission has found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface.

Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission, has found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

Data from the spacecraft also suggests water is still being formed on the moon, the British newspaper said.

"It's very satisfying," the newspaper quoted Mylswamy Annadurai, the mission's project director at the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bangalore, as saying.

The newspaper said the breakthrough would be announced by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Thursday.

NASA's website says it will hold a media briefing at 1440 EDT on Sept. 24 to "reveal new scientific findings about the moon" from data collected during national and international space missions.

The unmanned Indian craft was equipped with NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090924/776/tsc-chandrayaan-1-finds-water-on-moon-re.html

Comments