NRI bids to marry Rakhi Sawant
Lal Salam : 30 Years of Mohanlal Movies and More News
Now, Kerala featured in Vogue UK issue --Indian Industry create 300,000 US Jobs, Contributed $105 billion to the US economy -Oman Lifts ban on Indian poultry Import-- Iran Foils Plans to Plant bombs on Election Day, Iran Protests Engineered by Enemies, Ahmednijad--Indian Peacekeeping Mission to Congo Flagged off: Chidambaram Inspects new Intercepter Boats :Antony Sets up New Costal Security Committee --Mossad head Cry Wolf Again: Iran will have bomb by 2014--Dubai bans Iran protests, First cloned Camel in Dubai, The National to start Mideast news service -India Develops Second Cloned Buffalo Calf-U.S. Visa Cardholders Spend $733 Mn in UAE-Western Double Standards on Vote Frauds--Philipino Maid Faces Death Sentance for Killing Employers 20 years old Daughter --British Architect Accuses Prince Charlese of Interference on London Project of Qatar--NRI student jailed in UK for public disorder--Iranian Law Makers Endorse Ahmedjijad--Israeli Authorities to Inquire into Visa Racket Affecting Indian Pilgrims --UAE-Bahrain Malayali Dupes Investors, Nabbed by Indian Police -Joseph Chacko Arrested in India for Selling Non Existent Projects to NRIs in UAE, Bahrain --Iran Dissidents Debate Merits of US Democracy Aid
Western Double Standards on Vote Frauds
Media Repeating the Dirty Games ...New WMD theory in Iranian elections.
There was a major electoral fraud in the US presidential election 2004, but the US media never wrote a single word about it in the world's largest democracy! Several electoral officials were later prosecuted and even the Diebold Corporation Inc, the US Multinational corporation that manipulated the electronic voting software admitted the flaws in the system. There were election frauds in many European countries and the US never uttered a word about democracy. Even in the latest Indian elections there are allegations of electronic vote riggin, no comments from the father of democracy. So their credentials for crying wolf about Iranian democracy is to be consumed with a pinch of salt.
Now the western media is playing around with an "official" letter written by someone on behalf of the Iranian Minister of Interior saying that the Mohamed Ahmednijad got only 5 million votes, third and that the pro-US opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi: 19,075,623. According to the so called letter, Mehdi Karroubi, another candidate got 13,387,104 votes and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad polled just 5,698,417 votes. The pro democracy demonstrators are proudly carrying the photocopies of the alleged "official" letter. Even journalists like Robert Fisk are playing around with such letters. Read Robert Fisk: Secret letter 'proves Mousavi won poll'
Iranians who have seen their brothers and sisters getting butchered regularly in neighbouring Iraq after the bloody American invasion based on such fabricated documents and evidences presented by the then Secretary of State, Collin Powel, are still in love with America. Two million casualties and thousands of orphaned children and widowed women in Iraq are more than sufficient to encourage an average Iranian to vote for the American candidate. Collin Power made before the U N Security Council in an "inspiring" speech on February 5, 2003, making a strong case for US invasion of Iraq by presenting what was claimed to be "credible" US intelligence to prove that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The entire world believed the American Secretary of State and what followed is bloody history. Powel, a black American, went to the extent of accusing Saddam Hussein controlling biological weapons labs mounted on trucks which would be quite impossible to find. A few years after the war that killed several thousand, Powell acknowledged that he and the Bush administration misled the nation about the WMD threat posed by Iraq before the war. And the Information was allegedly fed by Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi counterpart of Mirhossein Mousavi! If it happened in any other democratic country in the world Powel and Bush would have been tried for war crimes. The Western media should just shut up, because there are no takers for their bullshitting about Iranian elections.Oman Lifts ban on Indian poultry Import
The Omani Ministry of Agriculture in accordance with their Ministerial Decree No.168/2008 lifted the ban of live bird products from India. The Oman Government had banned the import of live Indian bird products following the outbreak of Avian Flu in certain parts of India. The Indian Government took up the matter with Omani Authorities through diplomatic channel and impressed that Avian Flu is limited to selected pockets of North Eastern Region of the country and also blanket ban on import of live bird products from entire India is unjustified. It was also impressed that the affected birds were culled and isolated to prevent further spread of avian flu.
Iran foils election day 'bomb plots'
Iranian intelligence authorities have uncovered plots by "several terrorist groups" to bomb crowded places in Iran during the June 12 presidential poll. The terrorist suspects have reportedly confessed to "having connections with elements of the intelligence service" of Israel, IRIB quoted the Intelligence Ministry as saying in a statement on Thursday.According to the statement, one of the terror groups had planned to blow up prominent Hosseiniyeh-Ershad and al-Nabi mosques in Tehran on election day. The report comes as Iran faces a range of post-election protests over the results of its presidential election. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who suffered a crushing defeat in the disputed poll, has backed the right of his supporters to peaceful protests. He, however, has repeatedly emphasized that the rallies must remain free from violence. Nevertheless, some of the rallies have been subjected to violence resulting in a number of casualties.
Ahmadinejad gov't: Riots orchestrated by enemies
The government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says 'the enemies of the nation' are fomenting post-election riots across the country. "Our enemies and their media have hired some opportunist and mischievous elements and have misused the simple-mindedness of some people to cause unrest," the government said in a Thursday statement.
It further accused the Western foreign media of 'spreading lies and rumors' to create doubts over the health of Friday's presidential election. Iran's European Union envoy criticized the Western countries for their "support for these trouble-makers and anarchists under the cover of supporting democracy and the voice of the Iranian people". In a Thursday statement, the Iranian embassy in Brussels said, "All foreign involvement will have a damaging impact and is rejected by the people and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran".
Incumbent Ahmadinejad was re-elected as the Iranian president on June 12 with almost two-thirds of votes, but his main rival Mir-Hossein Moussavi has rejected the result as fraudulent and demanded a re-run of the election. In the statement, the Ahmadinejad administration called on the security forces to take measures to uproot vandalism and the frightening of the public.
Hundreds of thousands of Moussavi supporters have staged daily rallies since the announcement of election results on Saturday, asking the Guardian Council to nullify the election. Despite Moussavi's insistence on the peaceful nature of protests, violence flared in early stages of demonstrations. At least eight people were killed in Tehran and many others sustained injuries.
Iran has revoked all foreign media accreditations and foreign reporters are not allowed to cover gatherings which are banned as illegal. Moussavi's camp has stressed that the post-election rioters are "not supporters of, or linked to" the former prime minister, who suffered a crushing defeat in the June 12 poll. The Moussavi camp says that a number of "miscreants" are attempting to de-fame the popular figure and his supporters "by conducting acts of vandalism" in his name.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has also shed light on the situation. The Leader said on Tuesday that those who vandalize public property and stage violent riots are not related to any of the presidential candidates or their supporters. On Thursday, dozens of Ahmadinejad's supporters staged a rally in front of the Justice Department in the capital, Tehran. They also called for strong action against the rioters.
U.S. Visa Cardholders Spend $733 Mn in UAE
Dubai, 17 June, 2009 - Despite a challenging economic environment, international tourism remains resilient according to the new Tourism Outlook: USA report from Visa Inc. The report indicated that U.S. visitors to UAE were strong contributors to the national tourism economy, contributing $733 million to tourism revenues in 2008, up 85 percent from 2007.The average purchase amount for travelers from the U.S. while visiting the UAE was $139.69.
Emirati travelers spent $262 million on their Visa branded payment cards while visiting the United States in 2008, a 49 percent increase over 2007. In 2008, Visa cardholders from around the globe spent more than $53 billion on their Visa payment cards while visiting the U.S. Other top contributors to the U.S. tourism economy included Canada ($15.3 billion), United Kingdom ($4.7 billion), Japan ($3.1 million) and Mexico ($2.5 billion).
Tourism Outlook: USA also analysed traveler attitudes and intentions, based on a survey of 11 key source markets for international tourism. Key findings conclude that international travelers are fairly resilient. Only one in four are less willing to travel now compared to one year ago due to the socio-economic climate. And, 23 percent are more likely to travel internationally. However, they are not unaffected by the economic environment: 83 percent may adjust their international travel plans, while 52 percent will opt for travel during off-peak seasons and 33 percent will choose destinations where the cost of visiting is less.
"For businesses that rely on tourism, data such as the Tourism Outlooks is vital, particularly considering the current economic climate and external events that have had an impact on tourism," said Bill Sheedy, President, North America at Visa Inc. "This data enables businesses to improve their offerings and marketing strategies to ensure that they appeal to travelers around the globe." The U.S. continues to be a leading destination for international travelers. Almost half of respondents have visited the U.S. at least once.
Commenting on the significance of the findings for the UAE, Kamran Siddiqi, General Manager, Visa Inc, MENA, said: 'Travel and tourism are key revenue streams for Visa and it is important for us to understand the travel habits of our cardholders. In turn, this allows us to continue to offer value added travel rewards to our cardholders and enhance the experience, convenience and security of traveling with a Visa card."
How are travelers from around the globe making payments while abroad? Tourism Outlook: USA indicated strong preference for electronic payment among international travelers. Fifty-five percent of respondents reported they prefer to use credit cards while traveling, with the next most popular form of payment being cash (20 percent). They are opting for their preferred payment method largely based on convenience (69 percent), security (53 percent) and ease of access to funds (46 percent).
For the Visa international tourism survey, 5,539 adult consumers aged 18+ were interviewed as part of an online panel survey hosted by GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc). Fieldwork took place between December 11, 2008 and January 8, 2009. During the research process, questions are posed to a panel of consumers and data is collected until various predefined sampling quotas are reached. The results are then analyzed and sig-tested at a 95 percent confidence level. For this summary, the main differences that are interesting and statistically significant have been described accordingly.
Visa cardholder spending data cited is based upon a review of tourism spending on Visa-branded payment cards by international visitors from key source countries while visiting the U.S. during the calendar years 2008 (January 1 - December 31, 2008) and 2007 (January 1 - December 31, 2007) and also based upon a review of tourism spending on Visa-branded payment cards by American travelers to key source countries. These findings are based upon VisaVue® Travel data. Visa introduced the VisaVue® Travel tourism reports to the U.S. tourism industry in 2009 and offers it to a broad audience of state and convention and visitors bureau destination marketing entities.
Indian Industry create 300,000 US Jobs, Contributed $105 billion to the US economy
Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, has observed during an Indo-US Business Council meeting that the existing level of trade and economic engagement was not commensurate with the potential, which exists due to India’s far-reaching economic liberalization. Speaking at the Annual Summit of the United States India Business Council (US-IBC), at Washington last evening, Sharma cited the findings of a study “Contribution of the Indian industry to the US economy”, prepared for the India Brand Equity Foundation, which he released at the Summit, the Minister informed that during the period 2004-07, the Indian industry had contributed US $ 105 billion to the US economy and created 300,000 jobs. He also stated that India and the US were partners in progress and could together shape the 21st century. The Summit was also addressed by Secretary of State Ms. Hillary Clinton; US Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke and US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Ron Kirk and senior US government officials.
During her interaction with Sharma, Ms. Hillary Clinton stated that the Obama administration was keen to work on developing a more comprehensive and intensive bilateral relationship to build on the progress over the last fifteen years. The discussions covered the effect of the economic downturn on the two economies and the way ahead for WTO negotiations. Sharma said that while a perfect solution may be elusive, it should be possible to find a fair solution acceptable to all parties, while keeping in mind that development was central to the Doha Round. He also informed Ms. Clinton about the programmes being undertaken by the Government to stimulate domestic demand while providing a social security net to the most vulnerable sections of the society, especially through implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme. The Minister stated that the Government was looking forward to the forthcoming visit of Secretary of State to India and expressed confidence that her leadership would give a special impetus to the relations between the two countries.
The new Minister also interacted with the USTR and discussed about the Doha Round Negotiations. Both discussed bilateral issues of mutual interest and explored the ways and means for increasing bilateral trade and investment. They agreed to revive the dialogue on trade issues and to focus on resolving them to the extent feasible. The Minister emphasized that there were numerous opportunities that could be harnessed in the bilateral economic relationship even against the background of the global downturn. They welcomed the move towards resumption of Doha talks and agreed to work together towards resolving outstanding issues. Sharma invited Ambassador Kirk to visit India for the meeting of the G 20 Trade Ministers as well as for bilateral discussions. The Minister is scheduled to have bilateral meeting with United States Commerce Secretary Mr. Gary Locke tomorrow. He is also scheduled to deliver an address at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on “India in a Globalised World”.
Dancing Darlings of Sri Lanka
New Intercepter Boats for Indias Costal Security
Thanks to the mysterious Mumbai Terror attacks, the demand for military hardware in India is increasing. The latest military purchases "to protect the costal" regions is the costly intercepter boats. On Thursday, the Indian Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram reviewed the delivery of interceptor boats under the Coastal Security Scheme with the CMDs of Goa Shipyard Limited and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited, Kolkata.
While noting that delivery of boats has commenced from April, 2009 and 13 interceptor boats have been despatched to States/UTs including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Goa, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, Chidambaram underlined the need to ensure that there are no slippages in time-lines. He also emphasized the need for proper training and placement of trained manpower and police personnel and crew members for proper upkeep and running of these boats. He also directed that 6 boats which are also ready should be despatched without delay.
The Union Home Minister also met the DG, Central Public Works Department and CEO/CMDs of National Building Construction Corporation, National Projects Construction Corporation, Border Roads Organisation, Rail India Technical & Economic Services, Engineering Projects (India) Limited and Engineers India Limited to review issues relating to fencing, road construction, floodlighting, construction of Border Out-Posts etc. along international borders particularly the borders with Bangladesh and China. The Home Minister emphasized not only the need for timely completion of all projects but also the need for ensuring quality and an effective system of external audit/third party inspections.
Coastal Security Review Committee formed
The Government has decided to set up a high level committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary to review the measures taken for coastal security at regular intervals. The committee will be headed by the Cabinet Secretary. The other members of the committee will include the Chief of Naval Staff, Secretaries of all concerned Ministries such as Defence, Home, Petroleum and Chief Secretaries of Coastal States.
The decision to set up the committee was taken at a meeting chaired by the Defence Minister AK Antony, here today. It was attended among others by the National Security Advisor MK Narayanan, Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar, Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral RP Suthan, Director General Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, Secretary Petroleum RS Pandey and Senior Officials from the Departments of Fisheries, Ports, Border Management, etc.
While expressing satisfaction at the measures taken so far to bolster Coastal Security, Antony asked the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard to optimally use their assets and forces to enhance coastal surveillance. A number of measures have been taken by the Government to strengthen Coastal Security in the wake of the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai. These include setting up of a joint operation centres, allocation of additional manpower, exercises among Navy, Coast Guard and Coastal Police and improved network for sharing of information among various agencies.
MoD has also approved dry leasing of twin-engine helicopters and aircraft for the Coast Guard to add teeth for Air Surveillance. In addition more than 80 fast interceptor craft are being procured by the Indian Navy to supplement the efforts of other agencies including the Coast Guard. The meeting reviewed the progress made in the acquisition of systems and platforms already approved by the Government in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack.
Antony emphasised the role of both Indian Navy and Coast Guard in providing security to vulnerable ports as the local CISF force may not have complete wherewithal for maritime security.
The DG Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anil Chopra gave a summary of measures taken so far such as registration of fishing vessels, their notification and the format in which such registration has to be done by the Coastal States. Issues such as fixing transponders in certain categories of vessels, a network of radars and other sensors along the coast for a foolproof surveillance were discussed. 38 stations will get the cover of foolproof surveillance in the first phase of the project by the end of next year. Rest of the stations will be covered in Phase 2.
The issue of safeguarding the offshore installations were also discussed. The Ministry of Petroleum has been asked to procure the Intermediate Supply Vessels (ISVs), while the manpower will be provided by the Navy. The DG Coast Guard briefed about the Joint Exercises conducted with the Navy and State Police. The meeting also discussed issues relating to fixing transponders on certain categories of vessels.
Peace Keeping Force to Congo Flagged Off
With the national tricolour and India emblazoned on their blue uniforms, 285 IAF air warriors swapped their regular grey ‘side caps’ with the distinct ‘blue beret’ worn by UN peacekeepers worldwide, to form part of the Indian UN Peace Keeping Mission that leaves for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on June 20. The IAF saga of contributing to UN peace-keeping missions began when IAF sent a flight of Canberra bomber aircraft as part of the United Nations Operations in Congo (ONUC), in 1962.
Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance (AOM), Air Marshal KM Rama Sundara flagged-off the Indian Aviation Contingent-II, today from Palam. “You are the ambassadors of peace and the Nation has very high expectations from you in terms of discipline, integrity and professional standards”, he said while addressing the contingent, led by Group Captain Manavendra Singh. “Your predecessors have set high standards and you should aim to achieve even higher standards”, AOM told the team members. The present IAF contingent is effecting a fourth rotation and replaces an earlier team sent a year back. The contingent will operate six Mi-17 utility helicopters and four Mi-35 attack helicopters from Bukavu, in eastern DRC. Currently the IAF operates two aviation contingents from DRC, the other being stationed at Goma. DRC, it may be mentioned has been in a state of turmoil since it attained freedom in 1960. Indian Armed Forces have been contributing to peace missions in the strife-torn state ever since and have proved instrumental in bringing semblance of normalcy to the state.
The twin purpose of the contingent is to provide mobility to the UN staff and forces, while also acting as a deterrent for the belligerent groups trying to destabilize the peace process. Mi-17s would be primarily used for troop insertion and extraction, casualty evacuation, logistic supply, search and rescue, reconnaissance and observation. The primary role for the Mi-35 helicopter, equipped with night targeting system, would be offensive armed support as escort, and independent offensive operations.
Listing out his priorities on reaching Bukavu, Group Captain Manavendra says,” Among the first tasks is the familiarization of the area and taking charge of the area, getting to know the UN people and operational tasks”. The contingent comprises IAF personnel of diverse specializations including helicopter pilots. “All my pilots are categorized and their flying qualifications revalidated”, he added. Other members include those from the logistics, technical, medical services and pay and accounts. Life at the air base in Sukavu under field conditions is modelled on the lines of regular Air Force bases that exist in India. Apart from a six-bedded hospital, facilities such as a gymnasium, games equipment, internet, ISD, library, movies, music et al – all other IAF activities such as drill, physical training will form part of the daily routine during their stay period, the Contingent Commander said.
Among other senior IAF officials who were present at the flag-off ceremony included Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (ACAS) Operations (Transport & Helicopter), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) M Bahadur, and Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, New Delhi, Air Commodore Ajit Bhonsle.
India Develops Second Cloned Buffalo Calf
The world’s second cloned buffalo calf has been produced successfully through a new and advanced ‘Hand-guided Cloning Technique’ at National Dairy Research Institute, at Karnal (Haryana). Earlier, the N.D.R.I, Karnal had also produced the world’s first cloned buffalo calf on 6th February, 2009 but it could not survive.
The second cloned buffalo calf is a female and was born through caesarian operation at N.D.R. I, Karnal. The weight of the baby calf was 43 kg at the time of birth. She is healthy and having normal weight gain like other naturally born calves. This cloning technique developed at N.D.R.I, Karnal, has a potential to create elite breed of buffaloes of desired sex which will contribute in further increasing India’s milk production.
The team of the scientists involved in this cloning experiment was headed by Dr. A.K.Srivastav, the Director and Vice-Chancellor of N.D.R.I and included Dr. Suresh K.Singla, Dr. R.S.Manik, Dr. M.S.Chauhan, Dr. P.Palta, Dr. Shiv Prasad, Dr. R.A.Shah and Dr. Aman George.
