Karnataka Industries minister in US to attract NRI investment

BANGALORE: Karnataka Industries Minister Murugesh R Nirani was in United States from September 18-27 to attract non-resident Indians from the state and American investors to make investment in Karnataka.
Led by a high-level delegation, Nirani held interactions with business leaders and entrepreneurs from Chicago, New York and San Francisco, whereby he made them know about the various dynamics of trade. The delegation also visited the Chicago Board of Trade to study the auctioning and trading of agricultural products in the global market. It also visited the Chicago International Produce Market to get a grasp of the know-hows of agricultural trade, from procurement to preservation to sale. Nirani invited Arcelor Mittal to develop a global research and development facility in the state after his visit to such a similar one in US.
Nirani also met Ron Somers, President of the United States India Business Council and highlighted the business opportunities in Karnataka and extended an invitation to the council to attend the Global Investors Meet, 2012.

Indian American Aney Paul wins Legislative District 14 Primary in

NEW YORK: Indian American Aney Paul, of Nanuet, won the democratic primary against Spring Valley's Hank Stewart, beating him by 239 votes. Paul, after winning said that "it feels good". She further added that "I feel happy, but it's just beginning. The first step is over, but there's still more work to do. We'll work as a team and we will win again." Indian American Paul lived in Nanuet for 24 years. Mother of three children, Paul is a nurse at Nyack hospital, and also the president of the New City Library Board. She is also a member of the Nanuet Rotary club and Nanuet Lions club.

Indians, Egyptians may face visa restrictions from Kuwait

MANAMA: Kuwait is planning to impose restrictions on the number of visas to be issued to Indians and Egyptians after a sharp increase was noticed in the number of visas given to the nationals of both countries.
Indians and Egyptians are among the largest communities in Kuwait where foreigners make up 69 percent of the country's population. Kuwait's immigration directorate is looking into the matter. Kuwaiti authorities have so far banned visas for nationals from six countries, according to the Al Shahed newspaper.
The daily said the visas cap on Egyptians and Indians would not include some professions and the applicants who have university degrees. The directorate will make an announcement on the issue within days, the sources said. Kuwait in May banned nationals from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan from entering the country over fears political unrest in those nations could pose a risk to the Gulf state's security, the Gulf News reports. Some figures estimate that around 600,000 Indians, mainly unskilled labourers, live in Kuwait, where the total native population is around 1.1 million.

U.S. client tax indictment raises pressure on HSBC

NEW YORK: U.S. authorities charged an Indian-American client of HSBC Holdings on Wednesday with evading U.S. taxes through the global bank's India operations, increasing pressure on Europe's second largest bank over its offshore private banking services.
Federal prosecutors in Milwaukee filed a superseding indictment against Arvind Ahuja, a neurosurgeon in Greendale, Wisconsin, that fleshed out details of HSBC's work with Americans born in India and highlighted the role of two unnamed HSBC bankers in New York.
Ahuja was indicted in June for tax fraud involving more than $8.7 million hidden in an Indian branch of HSBC. Court papers say that over 2006 through 2009, Ahuja failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service more than $1.2 million in interest income he earned from the account, as well as to disclose the account's existence to the IRS, as required by U.S. law.

The superseding indictment signals a ramping up of pressure on HSBC and could lead to charges against two unnamed bankers listed in the new filing, based on past procedures.
Neil Brazil, a spokesman for HSBC, declined to comment, citing the bank's policy of not speaking about ongoing investigations.
WIDENING PROBE The indictment is part of a broadening U.S. investigation into Swiss and Swiss-style banks that sell offshore private banking services that enable American clients to hide income offshore and evade U.S. taxes. The probe has widened to include Israel and India. In 2010, the Justice Department mailed "target" letters to around 50 Indian-Americans with offshore bank accounts, telling them they were under scrutiny for suspected offshore tax evasion through accounts in India.
In April, the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal court for permission to force the bank to turn over the names of wealthy Indian-American clients suspected of evading taxes through offshore accounts at the bank's operations in India. HSBC is based in London but has Swiss-style private banking services around the world.
The superseding indictment pinpoints two HSBC bankers as Banker No. 1 and Banker No. 2.
Banker No. 1 was identified as vice president of NRI Services, North America. NRI Services - which stands for Non Resident Indian - is a unit of HSBC India that operates in New York and Fremont, Calif., according to court papers. The unit targets wealthy Indian-Americans for offshore private banking services, and serves over 160,000 people of Indian origin living outside of India. Banker No. 2 was identified as an assistant vice president of NRI. Both bankers worked in New York, according to court papers, which cited email correspondence in which Banker No. 2 called Ahuja "one of our largest NRI client."
NRI OPERATIONS The existence of HSBC's NRI operations emerged in January, when prosecutors indicted Vaibhav Dahake, an India-born naturalized U.S. citizen, on similar charges of evading taxes through HSBC's India operations. The bank was not named in his indictment. It was identified by sources briefed on the matter as HSBC. The superseding indictment details what it says was HSBC's use of methods to allow Ahuja to escape detection by U.S. tax authorities. The HSBC bankers procured credit and debit cards for Ahuja to use via HSBC affiliates in India and the British tax haven of Jersey. The cards allowed Ahuja to use his funds without disclosing their existence to U.S. authorities, in part to invest in real estate in India.
The bankers also mailed account correspondence to an address in New Delhi, rather than to his Wisconsin address. Ahuja was provided an HSBC checkbook that did not have the NRI name on it.
An action similar to the Justice Department's April summons on HSBC was filed against Swiss bank giant UBS in 2009, after the bank entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities and paid a $780 million fine over its private banking operations that fueled tax evasion by wealthy American clients.
The action, a broad summons known as a John Doe summons, sought to force UBS to disclose the identities of 52,000 American clients but was later dropped after UBS agreed to turn over 4,450 client names.

Sikhs protest in London against "intimidation, disrespect" during airports' turban searches

LONDON: Sikhs have been protesting at London Parliament Square against "intimidation and disrespect" of their turbans being searched at European airports. The protest was organized by a cable TV station based in Birmingham and London, the Sikh Channel, and similar protests were held in Brussels, Rome and Madrid, The Independent reports. The turban, known as a Dastar, is regarded as a symbol of Sikh identity. A Sikh Channel employee, Amar Deep Singh, travelled from Derby to participate in the protest. "We are used to the Government being tolerant, Britain has been very tolerant. But after 9/11 we are being mistaken as other communities who wear turbans. We're being told to take them off, almost as if it's as easy as a mobile phone. But we are not supposed to, it's a religious symbol," he said.

India warns against hurry in troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

UNITED NATIONS: Expressing concern over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, India today warned against any "hurry" in withdrawing troops from the country, saying such a move should be done keeping in mind the ground realities and not just to meet any deadline. "For peace, stability and security in Afghanistan, it is imperative that the ongoing transition must be linked to the ground realities rather than rigid timetables. This, the international community in its hurry to withdraw from a combat role in Afghanistan, will ignore at its own peril," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri said. Pointing out that extremist groups continue to attack high-security targets and assassinate important political figures such as former president Burhanudin Rabbani, Puri said gains on the security front cannot be consolidated unless the international community is able to firmly deal with safe havens for terrorist groups outside Afghanistan's borders. He said the "syndicate of terrorism" including al-Qaida, LeT and other extremist groups operating from within and outside Afghan borders must be rooted out for stability in the country. "For security and stabilisation of Afghanistan, it is important to isolate and root out the syndicate of terrorism which includes elements of the al-Qaida, Taliban, Laskar-e-Taiba and other terrorist and extremist groups operating from within and outside Afghanistan's borders," Puri said. "These groups are ideologically and operationally fused and their bonds have strengthened over the years," Puri said. Citing the UN Secretary General's report on Afghanistan, Puri said the average monthly number of security incidents this year is up 39 per cent as compared to the same period in 2010. While the process of transition of security responsibilities to Afghan National Security Forces has commenced since July, 2011, it is "indeed worrisome that there has been no let up in terrorist violence." These attacks point to a dangerous "osmosis of ideologies, ambitions, training and operations" among the syndicate of terrorism in the region with suicide terrorism as its main technique and targets not limited to Afghanistan, Puri added. He reiterated India's commitment to partnering with the government and people of Afghanistan in building a peaceful, stable, democratic and pluralistic nation.
"We support further strengthening of the Afghan National Security Forces. We fully support an Afghan-led inclusive and transparent process of reconciliation." It must be accompanied by an inclusive political process and intra-Afghan dialogue" which includes renunciation of violence, cutting of ties to terrorist groups and protections of human rights, including the rights of women, Puri said. India's two billion dollar assistance to Afghanistan spans a plethora of economic and social development activities.

India successfully test fires N-capable Agni II missile IANS | Sep 30, 2011, 11.40AM IST

BHUBANESWAR: India on Friday successfully test fired the nuclear capable Agni II missile from a defence base in Orissa. The surface-to-surface missile with a range of over over 2,000 km was test fired in Bhadrak district, said S.P. Dash, director of the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler's Island, about 200 km from here.
"It was a perfect launch," Dash told IANS. He added that the missile was tested at about 9.30 a.m.
The launch of the missile was postponed Aug 29 due to a technical snag. The Agni II missile is part of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. India had on May 17, 2010 test fired intermediate range Agni II missile, with a range of over 2,000 km after two successive failures in 2009. The failed tests did not meet the mission's desired objectives as on both the occasions the missile lost its speed and deviated from its flight path. The Agni II version of the Agni series of missiles was first test fired in 1999.

China takes giant leap, puts space lab into orbit

BEIJING: China on Thursday successfully launched its first unmanned "space laboratory" . The Tiangong-1 , which means " Heavenly Palace" , blasted off from a site in the Gobi Desert around 6.46pm (India time).
The 10.5m-long , cylindrical module was launched two days before its National Day celebrations, making China the third country after the US and Russia to operate a permanent space station, which it expects to be operational by 2020. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao watched as the unmanned "space lab" and the Long March rocket that heaved it skyward from a pad at Jiuquan in northwest Gansu province, lifted off under clear skies.
The Tiangong-1 will orbit on its own for a month after which it will be joined by another spaceship, Shenzhou-8 . Both will then conduct the first space docking. The next two years will see two more spaceships. The Tiangong-1 will help China establish a manned space test platform capable of long-term unmanned operation in space with temporary human attendance, China's Manned Space Engineering office spokeswoman Wu Ping said.

Nobel peace prize for Arab Spring?

OSLO: The Arab Spring is the focus of speculation over this year's Nobel Peace Prize, with an Afghan human rights activist and European Union as possible outsiders. The Norwegian Nobel Committee gives no clues ahead of the October 7 announcement, but judging by previous selections, the rebellion sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East would appear to tick all the right boxes. The challenge would be to identify a person or group that embodies the non-violent spirit of the revolution . "It's particularly hard in the context of these protests where there hasn't always been an identifiable leadership," said Kristian Berg Harpviken, the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, and a prominent voice in the Nobel guessing game. His top picks are Egyptian activists Israa Abdel Fattah, Ahmed Maher and the April 6 Youth Movement , a pro-democracy Facebook group they co-founded in 2008. His second choice is Wael Ghonim , a marketing executive for Google, for re-energizing the protests on Cairo's Tahrir Square after the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak. Harpviken's third pick is Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni who started criticizing the Tunisian regime before the uprising began in December. The Tunisian man whose self-immolation set off the protests is not a contender because the Nobel prizes are not awarded posthumously.

Shah Rukh Khan apologises to media

He may be the Bollywood Badshah, but Shah Rukh Khan's late coming at events has always got a thumbs down from the media. The 45-year-old is trying to make amends - he has apologised and promised henceforth to pre-inform organisers as well as the media about his delays. In the past, Shah Rukh has been late for several events and at an event in New Delhi, he came four hours late. The superstar has continued his late coming habit while promoting his forthcoming mega-budget superhero film "RA.One" as well. At a recent event to announce his collaboration with You Tube for "RA.One", he reached three hours late, and, for a Nokia event in Mumbai Wednesday, he made the media wait for over two-and-a-half hour before turning up.
When asked if he would ever come on time, Shah Rukh said: "No! Actually I would like to, but you know what happens...I am right now in the middle of a lot of work. So I slept at 11 in the morning and I need to sleep a couple of hours. So I really apologise...Mujhe maaf kardo (Please forgive me)." Mediapersons were quite blunt in their request to the actor to inform them of his delays through the event organisers in future, so that they do not waste their time waiting for him. "I am extremely sorry..I apologise for being late and next time I will make sure the information is passed on to everyone. I think it deserves an apology first. So I say sorry, and I'll make sure the information is reached out to everyone next time," he added.

Parking pain: City tops choking chart

NEW DELHI: The city's parking woes is now global news. A survey of 20 big cities across the world has found Delhi to be the worst in terms of 'parking pain'. The 'parking index', formulated by multinational firm IBM, was based on people's responses to the time taken looking for a parking slot, inability to find a parking space, disagreement over parking spots, receiving a ticket for illegal parking and number of parking tickets received.
It placed New Delhi at top position with a 'score' of 140, with another Indian city, Bangalore, is close behind in second place. These were the only two Indian cities in the list of 20. With New Delhi striving hard to gain a 'world-class city' tag, the survey said inefficient parking systems is a major setback to the city's productivity and can directly lead to inefficient services.
The worst city tag for Delhi is not only a reflection of the scarcity of parking slots but also of commuter behaviour. The survey found Delhi drivers among the most quarrelsome over parking spaces. Globally, one in four (27%) of commuters reported being involved in an argument with a fellow driver over parking space in the past year. In Delhi, as many as 58% admitted to having got into fights over parking.
In a city infamous for road rage, quarrels over parking are all too common in Delhi. In January this year, a restaurant manager was allegedly run over by a car driven by a pilot after a heated argument over parking in Khan Market. On December 14 last year, a bank loan agent had accidentally scraped past another vehicle while pulling out of his residence. The occupants of the second car allegedly reacted by stabbing him to death.
The survey, however, found parking problems were similar across the 20 cities spread over six continents. More than half of the 8,042 commuters surveyed said, at least once in the past year, they had given up trying to find a parking spot after a fruitless search and simply drove somewhere else.
"Clearly, drivers worldwide are facing frustration and pain, not only during the daily commute, but also when searching for a parking spot," said Vinodh Swaminathan, director of intelligent transportation systems, IBM. "It's easy to see how this parking 'pain' can impact productivity and economic opportunities in a city."
Swaminathan said it was possible to reduce commuters' woes. "The ability to combine transportation information being collected with a better understanding of their citizens' parking needs can help cities not only better match parking supply with demand, but also better anticipate and avoid gridlock and make significant inroads to reducing congestion," he said.
Globally, drivers spent an average of nearly 20 minutes in pursuit of a parking spot. The survey showed drivers in both developed and emerging economies faced much the same parking frustrations, regardless of where they lived or their ranking in the recent IBM 'commuter pain index' which indicates daily commuting problems in important international cities.
With 70 lakh vehicles and 900 more being added every day, parking space in Delhi is woefully limited. The city's roads too have not kept up with traffic growth, adding to jams, gridlocks and frayed tempers.

Telugu girl crosses English Channel

London, Sept 29 (PTI) A teenage Indian girl crossed the English Channel today in a relay swim making her among the youngest to undertake the endeavour. Ramya Chinthapally, daughter of Rajashekar, Minister, political, Press and Information at the Indian High Commission to the UK here, teamed up with five English swimmers. They started off from Dover mid day yesterday and reached the French Coast just after one am today, the Channel Swim Association said. After the feat, Ramya, who celebrated her 18th birthday on 7th this month, said, more than endurance, it was more a test of will power, swimming through jelly fish at night in cold waters. She aspires to swim solo next time. Her coach and mentor, Fiona Southwell, who is also the Secretary of the Brighton Swim Club feels, Ramya is so eager and such an extremely strong swimmer; it was also a rare thing that I did not need to correct her stroke; she was at ease in the sea. They had ventured a week ago, but then the swim had to be aborted.The observer from the Channel Swim Association, accidentally fell down and he had to be evacuated for medical treatment. Ramya, who is studying the final year A level in London is among the youngest Indian girls to be a channel swimmer. English Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest, to only 34 km in the Strait of Dover. 

Ramya Chinthapally Profile:

Ramya Chinthapally. Despite her youth (Ramya is only 17), Ramya is a very experienced swimmer. She has been the school swim team captain at the Seoul Foreign School and has been a star swimmer at the international swim meets held in Manila and Shanghai during 2008 and 2009. Swam in Nationals in India in 2006 and swam in the ‘Big Swim’ 5 km event of the Hyundai in the Atlantic in 2005.

Ramya is planning a solo next year. She sees the relay attempt as an opportunity to gain experience of channel conditions.

Saudi king overturns verdict, saves woman driver from lashing

RIYADH: Saudi King Abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a Saudi woman to be lashed 10 times for defying the kingdom's ban on female drivers, a government official said. The official declined to elaborate on the monarch's decision, and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. A Saudi court had found Shaima Jastaina guilty of violating the driving ban, and sentenced her to 10 lashes. The verdict took Saudi women by surprise, coming just a day after King Abdullah promised to protect women's rights and decreed that women would be allowed to participate in municipal elections in 2015. Abdullah also promised to appoint women to a currently all-male advisory body known as the Shura Council.
The harsh sentence marked the first time a legal punishment had been handed down since female activists began their campaign in June to break the taboo in this ultraconservative Muslim nation. There are no written laws that restrict women from driving. Rather, the ban is rooted in conservative traditions and religious views that hold giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sins. Normally, police just stop female drivers, question them and let them go after they sign a pledge not to drive again. But dozens of women have continued to take to the roads since June in a campaign to break the taboo.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women _ both Saudi and foreign _ from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford the $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.

Small plane crashes in Indonesia, 18 feared dead

MEDAN, INDONESIA: A small plane on a local flight in western Indonesia crashed into a mountainous area on Thursday and the 18 people aboard were feared dead, officials said. Rugged terrain and rains hampered searchers trying to reach the wreckage. The Spanish-designed CASA C-212 was about halfway through its 30-minute flight between North Sumatra and Aceh provinces when it lost contact with air traffic control, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan. Minutes later, the turboprop-powered plane sent out a distress signal and then dropped off the radar, Bonar Hutagaol, an Air Force marshal, told TVOne. ``I saw something unusual,'' Agus, a witness, told the station. ``A smoking plane circling very low before it disappeared from my view.'' Wreckage of the aircraft _ spotted during an aerial survey near the mountainous village of Bahorok _ appeared to be largely intact, its wings still fused to the body, said Ervan. There were no signs of the 14 passengers and four crew members, he said. Supri Sinaga, head of the local search-and-rescue team, said it could take hours to reach the scene because of torrential rains and rough terrain. Indonesia, a sprawling archipelagic nation of 240 million people, has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and train crashes to ferry sinkings. Many are blamed on overcrowding and poor safety standards.

President leaves tomorrow on 8-day trip to Switzerland,Austria

New Delhi, Sep 29 (PTI) President Pratibha Patil will embark tomorrow on a two-nation visit to Switzerland and Austria during which she will hold a series of bilateral talks with the leadership there in which the issue of blackmoney stashed by Indians in Swiss banks is likely to figure. The entire gamut of bilateral, regional and international issues will be discussed between the leaders of the two countries (India-Switzerland), M Ganapathi, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs said while briefing reporters on Patil's eight-day visit. He was responding to a question if the issue of blackmoney stashed by Indians in Swiss bank accounts will figure in the discussions. Asked again if there was such a possibility, he said, I would just like to repeat that the President would discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations and also regional and international issues. Patil would be visiting Switzerland from September 30 to October 4 and then will travel to Austria for a state visit from October 4 to 7. On whether the issue of revised Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty with Switzerland will figure during the President's visit, Ganapathi said, The amending protocol to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement was concluded nearly hundred days ago. The procedure for that is, we have ratified it in India and in the case of the Swiss Confederation, after it is introduced in Parliament it has to wait for 100 days before it comes up as a ratified document. Thereafter, there will be exchange of letters between the two sides (Indian and Swiss governments) for it to be effective. One of the most important elements in the amended protocol is Article 26 relating to exchange of information. The 100-day limit will expire only on October 6, by which time the President will be in Austria. Besides, a 45-member business delegation led by former FICCI President and Chairman of Modi Enterprises K K Modi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla, Members of Parliament Vijay Jawaharlal Darda, Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, and Chinta Mohan will also accompany the President. President would also be visiting the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). The facility is one of the most important areas of research in particle physics. During the trip, some official agreements are also likely to be signed but MEA officials did not specify in which fields. Agreements are in the stages of finalisation. So, we expect to have some of these finalised. I think as we go on we will have them delivered, Ganapathi said. In Switzerland, the President will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi on October 2 at his statue in Geneva. The statue was unveiled in November 2007 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Switzerland. While in Berne, the President will hold official talks with the President of the Swiss Confederation Micheline Calmy-Rey, and other members of the Federal Council. President will also unveil a bust of Rabindranath Tagore at the University of Lausanne on October 4. An MoU is expected to be signed between the University and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations on setting up of a Chair on Indian Studies. Incidentally, the country is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tagore's birth. In Austria, Patil will meet the her counterpart Heinz Fischer and the Federal Chancellor of Austria, Werner Faymann. The President will also visit the Austrian Parliament and meet the President of the National Council, Barbara Prammer and members of the Friends of India Group in the Austrian Parliament. While in Switzerland and Austria, the President will also meet and address the members of the Indian community. There are around 15,500 Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) in Switzerland and around 20,000 PIOs in Austria. The President will address the Indo-Swiss Business Forum in Berne on October 4 and the India-Austria Business Forum Meet in Vienna on October 6. The members of the Indian business delegation accompanying the President include representatives from the FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM. Two-way trade in 2010 between India and Switzerland touched USD 3.8 billion and between Austria and India it was over USD 1.2 billion. Both Switzerland and Austria are renowned for their experience and expertise in activities in the high technology related area, renewable and clean energy, infrastructure development, vocational education, small and medium enterprises, drugs and pharmaceuticals, biotechnology besides others. The presence of the business delegation will allow both sides to consider the opportunities which exists in not only taking forward the current commercial exchanges but in also considering the considerable untapped potential which so exists, Ganapathi said. Former President A P J Abdul Kalam had visited Switzerland in 2005.

'India top weapons purchaser among developing nations in 2010'

Washington, Sept 29 (PTI) India was the top weapons purchaser among the developing countries in 2010, acquiring armaments worth USD 5.8 billion, according to a US Congressional report. Taiwan ranked second with USD 2.7 billion arms purchases followed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Though Russia continued its dominance of the Indian arms market, the Congressional report said New Delhi had begun to diversify its weapons supply base, acquiring high technology systems from Israel, France as well as the US. The report said that the US ranked first in arms transfer agreements with developing countries followed closely by Russia which sold arms worth USD 7.8 billion. The value of all arms transfer agreements worldwide in 2010 was USD 40.4 billion. This was a substantial decrease in arms agreements values over 2009 of 38.1 per cent, and the lowest worldwide arms agreements total since 2003, the CRS said. CRS said sales of advanced weaponry in South Asia by Russia have been a matter of ongoing concern to the United States because of long-standing tensions between Pakistan and India. CRS said despite the volatility of the international economy in recent years, some nations in the Near East and Asia regions have resumed or continued large weapons purchases. These purchases have been made by a limited number of developing nations in these two regions. Most recently they have been made by India in Asia, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the Near East. For the larger group of developing nations in these regions, the strength of their individual economies appears to be the most significant factor in their decisions to make major arms purchases, it said. One key US policy objective is preventing a potentially destabilising arms race in this region. To that end, the United States has recently expanded its military cooperation with and arms sales to India, it said. Among the most significant arms transfer agreements Russia made in 2010 were with India for 29 MiG-29K fighters for USD 1.5 billion. Algeria purchased 16 Su-30 MKI fighters and Uganda 6 Su30 MK2 fighters for a collective value of over USD 1.2 billion. India has begun to diversify its weapons supply base. In 2008 India purchased six C130J cargo aircraft from the United States. In 2010, the United Kingdom sold India 57 Hawk jet trainers for USD 1 billion. In 2010 Italy also sold India 12 AW101 helicopters, it said. This pattern of Indian arms purchases indicates that it is likely that Russia will face strong new competition from other major weapons suppliers for the India arms market, and it can no longer be assured that India will consistently purchase its major combat systems, the report said.

Boeing P-8I aircraft for Indian Navy completes first flight

Bangalore,Sep29 (PTI) Boeings first long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I for the Indian Navy completed its initial flight today at the Boeing Field in Seattle, the company said. During the flight lasting two hours and 31 minutes, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior to landing, Boeing said in a statement here. In the coming weeks, Boeing will begin mission systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft at a company facility near Boeing Field. The P-8I programme is progressing well and we are looking forward to this potent platform joining the Indian Navy as part of its fleet, Rear Admiral D M Sudan, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air), Indian Navy, was quoted as saying. The P-8I will provide India with the necessary speed and reliability to satisfy the Indian Navys maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare requirements, Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said. Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737 commercial airplane, the P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the US Navy, he added. Leland Wight, Boeing P-8I programme manager, said: We have transitioned to P-8I production, and remain on track to deliver the first aircraft to the Indian Navy in 2013. The P-8I is the first of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India as part of a contract awarded in January 2009. An option for four additional P-8I aircraft was included in the original contract, Boeing said.

'Border with China one of the most peaceful and tranquil'

New Delhi, Sep 29 (PTI) India today said Chinese patrols do stray across to the Indian side but downplayed such incidents holding that its boundary with China is one of the most peaceful and tranquil. We have a very long boundary with China. The Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China has not yet been delineated and, therefore, since the Line has not been delineated, there are differences in perception which is very natural and I said it is a long border. So from time to time, the patrols do stray across. This is not new. This does happen. But when it happens, they revert to their areas, official spokesperson in External Affairs Ministry Vishnu Prakash said. He was responding to questions on reports of recent incursions by Chinese patrols along the LAC. I would like to highlight that India-China boundary is one of the most peaceful, one of the most tranquil boundaries that we have, he said. Prakash said India and China have a very good mechanism and if there is any issue pertaining to such incursions, they are immediately taken up and amicably resolved. To another question about the recent reports that one of India's most wanted and global terrorists Dawaood Ibrahim's son's marriage reception was being held in Pakistan, he said the 'most wanted' list has been shared with Pakistan. We have taken up this issue of most wanted people who we believe are in Pakistan or territories controlled by Pakistan. They have told us that these people are not there, specifically about Dawood Ibrahim that he is not there. Asked whether it was not obvious that Ibrahim was there because of the reception, he said, That is precisely my point, implying that there was contradiction in what Pakistan was saying and the actual situation.

Freida's skin tone was not altered, says beauty brand

New Delhi, Sep 29 (PTI) Indian actress Freida Pinto's lighter skin tone in a new advertisement of L'Oreal Paris has sparked controversy but the cosmetic brand has denied that they resorted to photoshop to get the fairer skin tone. The 'Slumdog Millionaire' star, who was signed as the face of the brand in 2009, appears fairer compared to her original skin tone in their new ad for 'Colours Take Flight' make-up. The cosmetic brand claims that the fairness comes because of the lighting effect and not because it was altered on computer. Freida Pinto has been a spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris brand since 2009 and we highly value our relationship with Pinto. This campaign was meant to highlight Freida Pinto's make-up colours applied on her eyes and lips. Thus, some powerful studio lights with ring-flash have been used for this purpose to create a runway effect on the picture, the brand said in a statement issued here. There has been no whitening retouching process whatsoever on Freida Pinto's face, the statement further read.

Estimated 62.4 mn people are afflicted with diabetic in India

Chennai, Sep 29 (PTI) A study conducted in four states has estimated that 62.4 million people in the country are afflicted with diabetic and another 77.2 million with pre-diabetes. The study, conducted in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Chandigarh representing the four regions of the county, by Indian Council of Medical Research and India Diabetes, estimated that in 2000 there were 31.7 million people afflicted with the disease while in 2007 it rose to 40.9 million. In 2010 the number went up to 50.8 million and in the last one year 11.6 million people were also afflicted with the disease, Madras Diabetic Research Foundation President and Diabetes Research Chief Dr V Mohan told reporters here. The study shows there are 62.4 million people with diabetes and an additional 77.2 million are pre-diabetes,he said. He said the prevalence of the disease in urban Tamil Nadu was 13.7 per cent while in rural it stood at 7.8 per cent taking the toal number of afflicted persons to 4.8 million. In Jharkhand the prevalence in urban areas was 13.5 per cent while in rural areas it was three per cent taking the total to 0.96 million people afflicted with the disease. In Maharashtra the prevalence of diabetes in urban areas was 10.9 per cent while in rural Maharashtra it was at 6.5 per cent leading to six million people afflicted with the disease. However, the prevalence of the disease in Chandigarh was leading the list at 14.2 per cent in urban areas, while in rural areas the prevalence was 8.3 per cent translating to 1.2 million diabetic people. Diabetologist Dr R M Anjana said the study also identified that there were 39 lakh people under pre-diabetes in Tamil Nadu, 15 lakh in Jharkhand, 92 lakh people in Maharashtra and 1.3 lakh people in Chandigarh.

India voted top destination for UAE travellers: Survey

Dubai, Sep 29 (PTI) India has been voted the top future global destinations by travellers from the UAE. India (27 per cent), UK (23 per cent) and Singapore (20 per cent) have been voted the preferred future global destinations for travellers from the Emirates, according to the Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey 2011. The results come after 503 UAE residents were surveyed as part of a global study among 11,620 respondents from 23 countries and territories around the world. Results from the survey also reveal that the global average spend for the last trip taken by respondents in the past two years was USD 1,481, rising to an expected global average of USD 1,895 when travelling in the next two years. The survey also found the availability of good deals (70 per cent), natural scenery (69 per cent), political stability and good weather (both 66 per cent), and new destinations (65 per cent) as top factors which influence global travellers' choice of destinations. Kamran Siddiqi, General Manager for Visa Middle East, said, With such a diverse cultural make-up in the UAE, it's no surprise to see such a variety of destinations making an appearance. India is consistently popular with people living in the UAE because it is home to a large population of expatriate, Indians who come to work here in the UAE, and because of its relatively close proximity, extensive and good value travel links, and exotic reputation that makes it an aspirational destination to visit, he said.

Medley of Indian classical dances as ode to rivers

A medley of classical dance genres drawn from seven forms -- Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam and Kathakali -- will capture here the essence of the Indian classical rhythm as an ode to seven Indian rivers Oct 1-5.Sannidhi will be performed at Ananya, the capital's biggest open air classical dance festival, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.The composite choreography, the highlight of the festival, will be presented by Parwati Dutta, who will show off her mettle in the multiple classical styles, performing each one in succession."Obeisance to the sacred waters is a quintessential element of Indian culture. In this production, the seven sacred rivers - Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Kaveri, Narmada and Sindhu - symbolically represent the seven Indian classical dances," said Dutta, an accomplished Kathak and Odissi dancer.
"A tradition is often metaphorically co-related with a river that flows with time and nourishes mankind," she said.The festival will also bring cultural heritages together -- the centuries-old living heritage, the Purana Qila or Old Fort, in the heart of the capital built in the 16th century -- will serve as the backdrop of the classical carnival, the organisers said.The open air classical dance festival, is presented by SEHER, a culture forum.
"The festival has grown bigger and better over the years; drawing new segments of audience who were earlier on the fringe of classical culture."We have been able to convert votaries of popular culture to classical fans," festival director and founder of SEHER Sanjeev Bhargava said.Ten years ago, Bhargava remembers making arrangement for an audience of 600 at the Purana Qila. "Now the venue spills with people," he said.He said the festival has also resurrected the sprawling Old Fort, dating back to the era of Mahabharata, as a "living cultural hub" in the last decade."Earlier Ebrahim Alkazi's plays were staged at the Purana Qila during the 1970s - after that there was a lull for nearly three decades before the fort was used again as a cultural exposition space," Bhargava said, recalling the slow convergence of several cultural matrices in the capital.Said Bhargava, a cultural activist: "In this age of television boom and growing TRPs of reality television - heritage and culture had to be repackaged with innovation and preserved among the future generations or else there is a danger that most of it would be declared intangible heritage shortly."On Day 1, the festival will begin with an Odissi rendition by Aruna Mohanty. She will present, "Gatha Odissi" - the journey of the genre from the temple of the stage. It will followed by an experimental Kuchipudi act by Vvjayanthi Kashi.The performances will be accompanied by seven seminars.

Century old photos from Dalhousie collection on sale

Sotheby's will offer on sale more than 220 newly-discovered photographs by the legendary Linneaus Tripe, depicting India and Myanmar in the mid-1850s, according to a statement issued by the auction house.
Its "Travel, Atlases, Maps and Natural History" auction will be held in London Nov 15. Forty-two of the images have no recorded prints and five are unknown photographs. The collection was once in the possession of Lord Dalhousie, governor-general of British India from 1848 to 1856, and has come to the present owner by inheritance. The photographs have not been seen by scholars for 150 years and are being offered for sale for the first time, a Sotheby's spokesperson said.
Tripe was one of the most prolific photographers working to document India in the early days of photography in the 19th century. According to Sotheby's spokesperson, Tripe was one of the "greatest photographers working in India in the 19th century and the collection on sale is one of the single largest collections of his photographs ever to have been offered by the auctioneer". The lot includes 'Views of Mysore of 1854' (estimated at £200,000) and 'Views of Burma of 1855' (estimated at £300,000).
The photographs were gifted in 1855 by Tripe to the Governor-General of India, James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, the first Marquess of Dalhousie, known as Lord Dalhousie . "These rare and beautiful images, printed by Tripe from waxed paper negatives, will rewrite the scholarship on his work. The images are among the first photographs taken of Mysore and Rangoon," Sotheby's specialist Richard Fattorini said. "The Governor-General of India had sent Tripe as part of a 'Mission to Ava' in 1855 as an 'Artist in Photography'. The title was apt because Tripe was truly an artist in his medium, with an extraordinary compositional eye," Fattorini said.
Ava was the ancient capital of Myanmar, then known as Burma. Tripe (1822-1902) is one of the most important photographic innovators of the 19th century. His works are often stylised with subtle use of light and shade. Tripe was also a master of photographic printing and used "albumenised" paper and "hypo-sulphite of gold" as a toning agent, which gives his best preserved works a wonderfully rich violet hue.

Tagore paintings 'a huge draw' in South Korea

An exhibition of 49 original paintings of Rabindranath Tagore now on display in the South Korean capital are drawing hundreds every day.
"It has been a huge draw," said A.R. Ramanathan, professional advisor to New Delhi's National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), the nodal agency for the travelling painting exhibitions.
"Koreans have great respect and love for Tagore," Ramanathan said. "Tagore had written a poem describing Korea as the Lamp of the East. This is well remembered."
Nobel Prize winner Tagore painted with ink and water colour profusely in the last stages of his life, producing works that enjoy global respect.
To mark his 150th birth anniversary celebrations, the Indian government has organised year-long travelling exhibitions of his paintings.
Sixty-one paintings are presently on display at New York's Asia Society Museum and 98 in Berlin. In Seoul, the National Museum of Korea is hosting the show.
NGMA director Rajeev Lochan and Indian diplomats in Seoul inaugurated the show Sep 19. The exhibition will conclude in the end of November.
Lochan and curator R. Siva Kumar from Visva Bharati University at Santinekatan, which has provided most of the paintings, lectured on Tagore and his art to enthusiastic audiences in Seoul, Ramanathan said.
Seoul even boasts of a Tagore Society, run by a South Korean.
"Tagore truly believed that paintings had the depth and power to communicate where words could have encountered limitations," an NGMA official said.
The paintings now in New York will move to Chicago while those in Seoul will be taken to London. Paintings on display in Germany will go to the Netherlands, France and Italy.

Saudi Arabia brings cultural, religious exotica to India

Sugary dates, Persian calligraphy, colourful contemporary art, henna designs and holy Zamzam water from Mecca are some of the exotic flavours from Saudi Arabia in the culture corridor of the capital this week.
A week-long Saudi Arabia cultural showcase - one of the biggest ever in India - is on here from Sep 27-Oct 1 with an arts blitz at the Lalit Kala Akademi. Presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the festival is the first initiative of the cultural wing of the ministry of external affairs to build better people-to-people bridges between India and Saudi Arabia.
In a touching gesture, the culture showcase 'performed a Haj ritual' by offering guests holy water from the Zamzam Well, a sacred spring located 18 km from the black stone at Kaaba, a building, on the complex of Masjid-al-Haram. The water was offered in miniature jars by holy men - dressed in traditional robes - who look after the well in Mecca. Haj pilgrims drink water from the well in a religious ritual during the annual pilgrimage. "The well dates back to the era of prophet Abraham. It was ordained by god to spring forth at Mecca for the well-being of the people. In course of time, it disappeared and was resurrected before the birth of prophet Mohammed. The people and now the government of Saudi Arabia have cared for it down the ages. The government has mapped it and located its source feeds. The water is very very clean..." Imad Zamzami, whose family has traditionally cared for the well, said.
"My grandfather and father have looked after the well before me," Zamzami said. The ICCR this year inaugurated its overseas cell in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. An 88-member delegation of artists, performers, scholars and officials is representing the kingdom in India.
"The cultural event comprising multiple components is being held in India indicates the growing profile of cultural diplomacy between the two countries. We opened our cultural wing in Riyadh this year and we plan to host Indian cultural events in South Africa. After all this period, there is nothing better than culture to understand each other," Suresh Goel, the director-general of ICCR, said.
The week-long Arabian art exhibition at the Lalit Kala Akademi has brought more than 150 heritage photographs, Persian and Arabic calligrahic art, digital art, multi-media art, paintings, sculpture, animation and comic book art from South Arabia from India. "Art is appreciated in Saudi Arabia.
Almost every household has an amateur or professional artist - and boasts of a work of art as accessory. Women can pursue arts provided they do not offend religious sensitivities. We cannot draw suggestive human figures," Amal Mohammed al Zahirani, an artist and interior designer from Jeddah, said.
Zahirani uses glue, varnish, antiques, acrylic and metal for her three-dimensional abstract art and sculptures. She estimated that the kingdom had 200 women artists who have made a name for themselves. Inaugurating the showcase, Sanjay Singh, secretary, east, in the ministry of external affairs said, "India and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial socio-cultural relations".
He said more than 1.8 lakh pilgrims want to visit Mecca for Haj this year. Singh also traced the history of bilateral ties between India and Saudi Arabia since the first Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the country in 1956. "We hope to organise more such cultural festivals in India. We are talking to people in India - this relation will continue," Saleh-bin-Abdul Aziz al-Meghaileth, deputy minister of international culture relations, Saudi Arabia, said. Saleh is heading the Saudi delegation.

US plans to levy taxes on NRI deposits made back home

AHMEDABAD: With the United States government planning to levy taxes on non-resident Indian deposits made back home, non-resident Gujaratis in US are a disturbed lot. The approximate 20 lakh NRGs staying in US are worried about the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), which will be enforced by US from January 1, 2013. Under FATCA, either the taxpayer or banks or institutions holding NRI deposits will have to disclose all details to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
It is to be taken into account that the NRG community deposits more than Rs. 9,000 crore of money in banks of Gujarat. And with the implementation of FACTA, they will have to shell out some of their earnings. It is estimated that at present, around Rs23,000 crore of NRI deposits is saved in banks of Gujarat. It is believed that around 40%, that is around Rs9,200 crore comes from US alone.

Yuvraj Singh highest tax payer in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: Cricketer Yuvraj Singh has turned out to be the highest income tax payer in non-corporate tax category in Chandigarh region with advance tax payment of Rs 1.75 crore for the assessment year 2012-13. The advance tax payment made by Yuvraj in this September was 84 per cent more than advance tax of Rs 95 lakh he paid in September 2010, as per the data provided by the income tax department here.
In corporate tax category, State Bank of Patiala has topped the list of ten highest tax payers as it paid income tax amounting to Rs 139 crore, up by 54 per cent compared with tax paid in last September. The total advance tax (including tax paid in June) of the bank reached Rs 203 crore, according to the data.
With department witnessing buoyancy in tax collections, the advance tax collections of Chandigarh region surged by 24 per cent till September 15, the last date for advance tax payment. The tax collections from corporates stood at Rs 449.10 crore and from individuals remained Rs 70 crore.
Glaxo Smithkline and Swaraj Engines secured second and third position in list of top ten tax payers of corporate tax with companies paying advance tax of Rs 16 crore and Rs 6.4 crore respectively in September.
In case of non-corporate tax category, Chandigarh Housing Board secured second slot in tax payment as it paid advance tax of Rs 1.5 crore, though it was 50 per cent less than what it paid in last September.
Chandigarh region had already posted highest growth of 47 per cent in terms of income tax collections in the first quarter of current fiscal across the country.
Income tax department is eyeing over 20 per cent growth in tax collection in current fiscal over actual mobilization of last fiscal. The department has set a target of collecting Rs 19,844 crore in 2011-12 against Rs 16,374 crore realised in last financial year.

Release of Indians facing death penalty in Sharjah gets delayed again

SHARJAH: The case involving the release of 17 Indians facing death penalty in Sharjah for murdering a Pakistani national has taken another turn. The colleagues of the murdered Pakistani are now demanding that they be compensated just like the victim's family.
The Indians are in jail since 2009 for the murder of Misri Khan, a Pakistani citizen, and are awaiting death sentence awarded by a Dubai court on March 18, 2010. The jailed Indians were hoping for their release after they paid 3.43 million Dirham to the family members of Misri Khan. His family had submitted application granting pardon to the convicts on July 27, 2011. This cleared the way for their release.
The release is being mediated by the Dubai-based Indian Punjabi Society. Talking to Dainik Bhaskar over phone, S P Singh Oberoi, the founder member of the society, said that during the brawl in which Misri Khan was killed, his friends Mushtaq Ahmad and Shahid Iqbal, suffered injuries. They have now filed a petition in a Dubai Court asking for compensation. If the court accepts their petition, a new date for hearing the case will be given.

MBA hangs herself on cellphone camera

MUMBAI: A 24-year-old management professional hanged herself at her home in MIDC, Andheri (East), on Tuesday. Nidhi Singh committed suicide between 9.45 am and 10 am soon after her husband Samdashi (25), an assistant manager at a private bank, had left for work.
"She recorded her suicide on her cellphone. She also left behind a note, which was in Hindi but scripted in Roman alphabets, holding no one responsible for the act. She also apologized to her husband," said MIDC senior police inspector S L Hujband. "Besides, she mentioned she wanted to be a part of both her and her husband's family in her next birth and did not want to hurt anyone."
The cellphone footage is 1.33 minutes long. In it she says she was depressed and had regrets about her love marriage, which took place in February.
"The couple hail from Uttar Pradesh and was staying in the rented flat (on the first floor of Golden Apartments, Kondivita Lane) for four months," Hujband said.
When Singh's father did not get an answer after repeatedly calling her till Tuesday evening, he asked a distant relative, who too resides at MIDC, to check if things were right with her. "Our relative contacted me at my workplace and said my wife was not responding to my father-in-law's repeated calls," read Samdashi's police statement. "Around 9.30 pm, I went along with my relative to the flat. But when my wife did not answer the knocks, we informed the police. The fire brigade was called and they broke open the door to find her hanging from the ceiling." The police said that Singh had frequent arguments with her husband. "But the suicide note, which was found by Samdashi when he searched the house, did not indicate any ill-treatment from him," Hujband said. "Samdashi said that around 9.30 am, when he was leaving for work, Nidhi requested him to talk with her for 10 minutes. He complied but she again tried to stop him. He ultimately left as he was getting late for work. Around 10 am, he received an SMS from her saying 'sorry'. But he did not take it seriously."

Sri Sri & Deepak Chopra: Should spiritual saffron sup with political saffron?

Recent events, such as Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign, have given rise to the question: should the spiritual saffron join hands with the political saffron? The Times of India presents two views - from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Deepak Chopra. Not many know that the two are spiritual siblings who cut their teeth under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

A saint is like a newspaper
When scam after scam is being exposed and there is depression in people's minds, spiritual leaders cannot confine themselves to their ashrams, writes Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A saint cannot be indifferent and apathetic, nor can a newspaper. At the same time, he cannot be partial and take sides either. Saints should not align with any party or any single ideology. Or else they wouldn't do justice to the very party they align with. It is simply not in his nature. In the same way, a saint will always have to respond to the need of the vishwatma (society). He cannot shy away from any aspect of life, whether it is counseling in personal affairs of people, airing his opinion or guiding in the collective concerns of society.
When scam after scam is being exposed and there is depression in people's minds, spiritual leaders cannot confine themselves to their ashrams. Even in Mahabharat and Ramayan saints have been proactive. What the saints have to guard against, like newspapers, is bias and prejudice.
Saints cannot be like old newspapers. Everyday, they have to be fresh and respond to the current situation. Newspapers cannot exclude any aspect of life - similarly a saint also cannot exclude any aspect of life. They will have to cover all fields whether economic, social, obituary, entertainment, sports and even spirituality!! Whether good or bad, right or wrong, they have to intervene. Saints will not wait for people to come and ask for help. They plunge into activity. They do not need an invitation before the action or an appreciation after the action is completed.
Apathy is not the nature of saints. Similarly, newspapers cannot be apathetic to any happening. If you look back in history, great sages such as Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Samarth Ramdas, Gadge Maharaj, Sant Tukadoji Maharaj, Sikh Gurus and a host of others, have never limited themselves to one thing and never shied away from political responsibility. They never showed an iota of apathy for the happenings of that time on the planet. There used to be a seat created in every king's court for the Rajaguru to occupy and to advise the king. Even the power to dethrone the king was vested in them. Though today, fortunately for the saint community, this job now is being taken care of by the Supreme Court.
Great Rishsi of yore like Vasishta, Vishwamitra or Ashtavakra have never seen life as one-sided nor said that people should go inwards alone and turn insensitive to societal needs. They have always emphasized both Nivritti(inward serenity) and pravritti (outward duty). They have encouraged nishkama karma - taking responsibility along with a spiritual awakening.
In our times, we need to spiritualize politics,socialize business and secularize religion and make life multifaceted like the newspaper!

Religion and politics
Should spiritual leaders enter politics? It would be better if they didn't, writes Deepak Chopra
I think it's fair to say that there's good reason to keep God out of politics. Religion and politics are both combustible subjects, and throwing them into each other's arms is sure to cause a fire. Civil life has very different duties from religious life.You cannot defend yourself in court for breaking a law by claiming that God told you to. For these and other reasons almost every country erects a wall to keep God out of the Constitution, yet it seems to be a leaky wall - religious belief is rarely far from sight when politics grow heated. Life isn't compartmentalised, and issues from abortion and birth control to gay rights and stem cell research, bring up personal morality, an area where for millions of people God's voice is louder than anyone else's.
Is it wrong - or even immoral - to trump your opponent by claiming to have God on your side? The very notion that God chooses sides is suspect.The human mind cannot conceive of being omniscient, but surely it must include seeing both sides of a question.There is no proof that God favours one combatant over the other in wartime, yet both camps declare that the Almighty is their ally. This kind of thinking is called projection by psychologists: you attribute to "the other" what you believe should be there.Thus God acquires human attributes because we project them on to him. If God doesn't share our likes and dislikes, there would be no way to bond with the divine. If it is impossible to relate to a totally abstract, non-human God,does that give us an excuse to take the next step and say that the divine thinks exactly the way we and our friends do, while rejecting that He thinks the way our enemies do? No. But religion is such an easy refuge for "us" versus "them" thinking that it proves inescapable.
The struggle to keep religion out of politics must be waged, yet with the knowledge that it will never be won. No one is free of guilt in this matter.The most liberal and secular politicians, people who never invoke God in their personal lives or even give a thought to religion, are forced in times of crisis to pray in public and seek divine compassion.
"With God's help," falls easily from every politician's lips, especially in times of war. Who would dare run for office saying,"I don't care what God thinks. This is what's right to do?"
Such hypocrisy is par for the course part of the political game, and no one has been harmed by it - until it is taken seriously. If national leaders declare that only the devout are moral, that only one faith is true, that the world is divided between believers and infidels, the worst in human nature begins to unfold. No one is more dangerous than a man who knows he is right, except a man who knows that God has told him he is right.Whether such a belief rests in the heart of George Bush or a swami makes little difference.
The problem isn't God or even the rigidity of dogma.The problem is thinking in absolutes. The irony is that spirituality, which is much broader than religion, is about the expansion of consciousness, which involves breaking down barriers.When religion enters politics, boundaries harden and awareness contracts to a very small circle: you and the faithful.
Thus religion subverts spirituality, and the claim to be near to God is made by those who couldn't be farther from the divine.That's the situation faced by India, the US, and any number of Muslim societies. We can't wish the conflict away or legislate it out of existence.The struggle between God and politics is actually a struggle between human behaviour and human aspirations.We are all part of that conflict, and once we realise that fact, the crisis will begin to come to an end - for now, at least.
( The above article by Deepak Chopra appeared in The Speaking Tree dated May 1, 2011 )
Courtecy: Times of India

India to roll out world’s largest non-communicable diseases drive

NEW DELHI: As many as 26 "mini interventions" will make up the world's largest programme to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that will be launched by India soon. The "New Delhi Call for Action on combating NCDs in India" initiative will be against specific diseases, and some will exclusively address major risk factors like obesity, junk food and tobacco consumption. The World Health Organization (WHO) only recognizes cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung ailments as NCDs. Diseases that will be addressed through the 26 interventions include neurological disorders like epilepsy, autism and dementia, genetic and geriatric disorders, oral and dental diseases, chronic kidney disorder, occupational and environmental diseases, physical disabilities including blindness and deafness, muscular skeletal problems like bone and joint disorders, hereditary disorders like hemophilia, thalassemia and sickle cell anemia and nutritional disorders. Programmes against social violence, trauma due to natural calamities, nuclear disasters, tobacco control and obesity will also be part of the exhaustive drive. A ministry official said, "This is a comprehensive note on the strategy to combat NCDs in India over the next five years. It will rolled out in every district over a phased manner. The funding for the NCD programme under the 12th plan will see a substantial jump."
"The major NCDs are linked to common risk factors, namely tobacco use in all forms, unhealthy diet especially high consumption of fats, salt and sugar, physically inactivity, obesity, alcohol abuse and stress. Increase the budget for promotion, prevention, screening, management and control of NCDs. Reduce common NCD risk factors using a range of options including legislation, regulation and fiscal measures," the New Delhi call for Action says. Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Wednesday, "Reversing the epidemic of NCDs is not only the responsibility of government alone, but requires engagement from civil society and the corporate sector." He said, "National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVDs) and Stroke (NPCDCS)" and the "National Programme for Health Care of Elderly (NPHCE)" has been launched at a cost of Rs 1,275 crore and have been taken up for implementation as a pilot project in 100 most backward districts in 21 states during 2011-12.
He explained, "Our target is to screen about 150-200 million people by next March under this pilot project covering 20,000 rural sub-centres and urban slums. In the initial phase, we have been able to screen about half a million people and the results shows that among these 6.1% were found to be diabetic, 12.3% had hypertension and about 1.5% had CVDs." Azad added, "We are attempting to achieve early diagnosis and treatment of over two-thirds of NCDs. NCDs contributed half (50%) of the total mortality in the country. With the cumulative increase in losses from premature deaths due to NCDs, India stands to lose $237 billion during 2004-2015."

Army to hold joint exercises with 16 friendly forces

NEW DELHI: From just a couple of joint exercises annually a decade ago, Indian Army is really cranking up its engagement with foreign armies now. The 1.13-million force will undertake as many as 16 combat exercises with friendly forces in 2011-2012.
The flurry of exercises constitute an effective diplomatic tool to enhance overall strategic ties and military-to-military cooperation with countries in India's "immediate" and "strategic neighbourhood" as well as "priority nations'' far away.
From US, UK, France, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives, Seychelles, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, the response has been "simply overwhelming", say Army officers.
"Other armies are very keen to exercise with us since we have six decades of combat experience across the entire spectrum of conflict. One of the main focus areas in the exercises has been counter-terrorism/counter-insurgency in rural, semi-urban and urban terrains," said a senior officer.
With the ever-growing threat of terrorism looming large over the globe, this comes as no surprise. Indian Army, after all, has dealt with insurgencies and terrorism over the years, developing valuable expertise in tackling "sub-conventional warfare" or "low-intensity conflict operations".
Army, of course, also has specialized institutions like the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) at Vairengte in Mizoram, where soldiers learn to "fight the guerrilla like a guerrilla'', as well as the High-Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Jammu and Kashmir, which runs specialized mountain warfare courses in Sonamarg area and snow-craft and winter warfare in Gulmarg area.
So, if 200 Indian soldiers recently participated in "Ajayee Warrior" exercise with British soldiers at the Land Warfare Centre in Warminster, near Salisbury in UK, another contingent is currently in Mongolia for the "Nomadic Elephant" counter-terror exercise. Then, French soldiers will be at Chaubatia, near Ranikhet, to take part in the "Shakti" exercise with India's 99 Mountain Brigade from October 9 to 22.
The exercises, of course, are meant to build bridges in tune with India's larger geostrategic interests. India, for instance, has been assiduously ramping up economic and military ties with Central Asian Republics. A joint special forces training exercise will soon be held with Kyrgyzstan as part of the policy.
"Exercises with Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh are also slated in the coming months. The one with Myanmar, for instance, will be held at CIJWS. After 'Vajra Prahar' and 'Shatrujeet' exercises with US earlier this year, the 'Yudh Abhyas' one in India is also next on the agenda," said another officer.
"The exercises build mutual trust, confidence and interoperability. Our soldiers also learn a lot from different armies, and enhance their capability to operate alongside other defence forces under the UN flag or otherwise," he added.

IT cos jittery on sluggish US growth, EU debt crisis: Assocham

New Delhi, Sept 28 (PTI) Major IT and BPO companies in the country are jittery amid fears of another economic slump in the US and a debt crisis in Europe, according to industry body Assocham. About 55 per cent respondents said that while the sector is unfazed from S&P's downgrade of the US credit rating and that the slowdown is temporary, it would surely hamper the hiring activity across the sector. Downgrade of US debt rating and debt crisis in Euro zone will impact recruitments in the Indian IT sector and hiring is expected to go down by about 30 per cent during the course of next few months, Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. The downgrade by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's in August had triggered concerns that the USD 60 billion software services industry - which gets more than 60 per cent revenues from the US market - would be hit. IT industry body Nasscom, along with top players, had however, exuded confidence that the sector will sail through the crisis. Assocham interacted with about 140 representatives, directors, CEOs, CFOs, Chairmen and MDs of companies offering IT/ITes and BPO, BTO, KPO services in various domains like pharmaceuticals, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, auto, FMCG and manufacturing. The study was carried out across Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, National Capital Region (Gurgaon and Noida), Hyderabad and Pune. The US and Europe account for over 80 per cent of India's USD 60 billion IT industry and macro-economic uncertainty in these parts of the world are bound to make the market gloomy, Rawat said. About 25 per cent of respondents said the current round of global economic crisis won't have much of an impact on India, considering the strong domestic demand of goods and services together with their exposure to other avenues like Asia-Pacific and other parts of the world.
Nearly 20 per cent of the respondents said Indian firms may report sluggish business during the course of next few months due to the slowdown. Besides, the industry is already reeling under high interest costs, high inflation and the stock market is also in a sombre mood, the study added. Apart from slowdown in foreign direct investment (FDI), growth in exports and domestic private consumption might also slump, Rawat said.

12 foreign magazines await govt nod to launch Indian editions

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) The government is considering the requests of 12 foreign magazines seeking permission to launch their editions in India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting today said. There are 12 requests for permission from magazines published abroad to launch their Indian editions under consideration of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, a ministry official said. Some Indian magazines are also awaiting the Ministry's nod for Foreign Direct Investment, he said. With an average of over 35 foreign magazines entering the country every year for nearly a decade, the magazine market in the country is witnessing an unprecedented boom, Ministry sources said. In addition to 260 foreign magazines, 128 editions of Indian magazines with Foreign Direct Investment have also been launched in the country in less than a decade, they revealed. Already 260 foreign titles under the magazine category are available in the Indian market. Twelve more are in the pipeline. The combined number of foreign magazines or magazines with FDI would soon cross 400 in a span of just eight years, said an official. In the global scenario print industry is moving towards digitisation and showing negative growth but the Indian magazine Industry is proving to be an exception, sources said. Officials attribute the booming magazine sector to the changed print media policy of the government. The policy of not allowing foreign owned periodicals to be published in India was reviewed in 2002 and then in 2005. The Government has been encouraging the entry of speciality and niche magazines as availability of foreign scientific and speciality magazines at affordable cost has benefited students and professionals, an official said. Liberalisation of our print media policy has also attracted substantial Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the official said. With the government in an accommodative mode, the rush to start new magazines in the Indian market is likely to continue in future, ministry sources said. The launch of internationally renowned magazines like BBC's Knowledge and Home Trends, worldwide Media's Lonely Planet, Network 18's Forbes Life and CondeNast's Traveller have drastically increased the choice offered to the Indian reader, they said. The launch of two facsimile editions of foreign publications Wall Street Journal and Wall Street Journal Asia have also contributed to this growth in the country magazine market.

UK clears NRI's extradition to South Africa

London, Sept 28 (PTI) Britain today approved the extradition of Indian-origin Briton Shrien Dewani, who is alleged to have masterminded the murder of his wife Anni during their honeymoon to South Africa in November last, a sensational case that hogged international headlines. Home Secretary Theresa May approved his extradition to South Africa where he will stand trial for the murder of his Indian-origin Swedish wife. The couple had married in a Bollywood-style wedding in India. Dewani, 31, denies any involvement in the death of Anni, 28, and had mounted legal attempts to prevent his extradition to South Africa. A judge had earlier ruled that he could be extradited but Theresa May had to approve the move. Dewani has 14 days to lodge an appeal against the decision. The home secretary, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed an order for Shrien Prakash Dewani's extradition to South Africa. Dewani now has the opportunity, within 14 days, to appeal to the High Court against the decision of the district judge and/or the home secretary, a Home Office spokesperson said. Anni, from Sweden, was shot after a cab the couple were travelling in was hijacked in the Gugulethu township in South Africa. Shrien was unharmed but Anni'sbody was later found in the abandoned car. At Dewani's extradition hearing in August, District Judge Howard Riddle said the court must consider the strong public interest in honouring our extradition treaty.

Man nabbed at international airport with 4.8 kg gold

Mumbai, Sep 28 (PTI) An Indian coming from Bahrain was arrested at the international airport here today for allegedly smuggling 4.8 kg gold valued at Rs 1.20 crore, a senior customs official said. 28-year-old Martoz Khan arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 3.45 am from Bahrain on a Jet Airways flight and was intercepted at the airport authorities on suspicion, Additional Commissioner (Customs) Mahendra Pal said. Khan was found with 4.8 kg crude gold valued at about Rs 1.20 crore. He had concealed the gold in two electric kettles and a blanket in his checked-in baggage, the official added. Khan, hailing from West Bengal, claimed the gold did not belong to him and was carrying it for someone else, the official said.