Korean-American Jim Yong Kim is chosen to lead the World Bank - India

17 apr 2012

Korean-American Jim Yong Kim is chosen to lead the World Bank

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Washington:  The World Bank on Monday chose Korean-born American health expert Jim Yong Kim as its new president, maintaining Washington's grip on the job and leaving developing countries questioning the selection process.

52-year-old Kim won the job over Nigeria's widely respected finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, with the support of Washington's allies in Western Europe, Japan, Canada and some emerging market economies, including Russia, Mexico and South Korea.

Unlike previous World Bank elections, the decision was not unanimous among the 25-member board. Among the emerging economies, Brazil and South Africa backed Okonjo-Iweala, while three sources said China and India supported Kim.

"The final nominees received support from different member countries, which reflected the high caliber of the candidates," the Bank said in announcing its board's decision.

Kim, president of Dartmouth College, will assume his new post on July 1 after the Bank's current president, Robert Zoellick, steps down.

In a statement, Okonjo-Iweala congratulated Kim and said she looked forward to working with him. However, she said the selection process needs to be improved.

"It is clear to me that we need to make it more open, transparent and merit-based," Okonjo-Iweala said. "We need to make sure that we do not contribute to a democratic deficit in global governance."

The United States has held the presidency since the World Bank's founding after World War Two, while a European has always led its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner welcomed the decision and said Kim's background would be valuable in advancing the Bank's work in fighting poverty.

"His deep development background coupled with his dedication to forging consensus will help breathe new life into the World Bank's efforts to secure fast economic growth that is widely shared," Geithner said in a statement.

Unlike previous heads of the World Bank, Kim is not a politician, a banker or diplomat. He is a trained physician and anthropologist who has worked to bring health care to the poor in developing countries, whether fighting tuberculosis in Haiti and Peru or tackling HIV/AIDS in Russian prisons.

There had been a three-way contest for the presidency of the poverty-fighting institution until Friday when former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo withdrew. He said the process, which was meant to be based solely on credentials, had become highly political.

South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan welcomed the fact that non-Americans competed for the post for the first time, but also said there were concerns the process was not fully merit-based.

"I think we are going to find that the process falls short of that," Gordhan told the Foreign Correspondent's Association in South Africa, adding that there were also "serious concerns" the decision was made without full transparency.

Zoellick said Kim's science-based drive for results will be invaluable for the World Bank as it modernizes.

Andrew Mitchell, British secretary of state for international development, said Kim had shown he can drive change. "As the first development professional to head the World Bank, Jim Kim's considerable experience will be vital as he leads it through its ambitious reform and modernization program," he said

Pvt British guards illtreated minorities - India

15  apr 2012

Pvt British guards illtreated minorities’

LONDON: A security firm hired to deport asylum seekers and prisoners from the UK has admitted that its guards demonstrated a lack of respect for ethnic minorities and women and displayed "aggressive" and "loutish" behaviour in an internal note leaked to the Guardian newspaper.

Nepalese asylum seeker Govinda Pokharel claimed that guards of the firm - Reliance - thrashed him during an attempt to evict him, his pregnant wife, Jamuna Rijal, and their fourmonth-old child last year.

But Reliance that won British home ministry's lucrative contract for the purpose in May 2011 dismissed Pokharel's allegations as "unsubstantiated" .

"Is there actually a problem with our business? The consensus was: yes. Is this a company where women, ethnic minorities and those of diverse religions feel comfortable? Evidence would suggest: no," the firm said in the note.

But the company is now reviewing and amending its recruitment process to encourage more applications from women and those from minority cultural backgrounds.'

Strong 6.5 quake rattles Vanuatu: USGS - India

15 apr 2012

Strong 6.5 quake rattles Vanuatu: USGS

A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage either. The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometres, around 150 kilometres south east of the capital Port Vila. Vanuatu lies on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a zone of frequent seismic activity caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates.
The earthquake hit shortly after 9.00am (around 0330 IST), USGS said.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an information bulletin but no alert, saying "a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii".

2G scam: Enforcement Directorate summons Airtel, Vodafone top brass - India

13 apr  2012

2G scam: Enforcement Directorate summons Airtel, Vodafone top brass

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned top brass of Vodafone and Bharti Airtel in connection with alleged irregularities in the grant of additional 2G spectrum during 2001-03.

Continuing its probe into telecom spectrum scam, the ED had registered case, pertaining to the allocation of spectrum during the NDA regime.



It has named former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh, then deputy director general JR Gupta and few telecom companies for alleged irregularities in the grant of additional 2G spectrum during 2001-03, sources said.

The Enforcement Directorate has now summoned senior officials of Vodafone and Bharti Airtel for questioning next week, they said.

They said the notice does not specify any particular officer by name and has been issued to managing directors of the companies or their authorised representatives.

When contacted, Vodafone spokesperson refused to comment on the matter while Bharti Airtel officials were not immediately available for comments.

The CBI is also probing the 2G spectrum allocation during the NDA regime when late Pramod Mahajan was telecom minister.

In its FIR, the CBI had alleged there was a loss of Rs 508 crore to the state exchequer during 2001-07.

The Enforcement Directorate is probing any alleged violation of the prevention of money laundering law in the spectrum allocation.

Shahid Kapoor plans moving to Bandra - India

12 apr 2012

Shahid Kapoor wants a new flat in Bandra

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Shahid Kapoor More Pics

Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor had reportedly been lovers. Despite the failure of the romantic liaison, the couple had maintained the other relationship that they shared - that of being good neighbours. But now it is time to move on. Mirror has learnt that Shahid has decided to move out of his 1-BHK flat in Raheja Classique on Yari Road, Andheri.
According to a source close to the actor, he now wants to stay closer to The Khans of Bollywood - in Bandra.The decision to move out seems to have been triggered by two things. For one, Shahid now needs a bigger, more spacious pad for himself. "Shahid's present flat is not too big. His present 1-BHK apartment means he ends up holding all his meetings with filmmakers in the living room. He wants to have a separate office in his new house. Also, being a fitness freak, he wants to have a nice gym," revealed the source.
T he second trigger can be summed up in two words - stalker scare. As reported in Mumbai Mirror on April 6, the daughter of an iconic actor had been harassing the young actor for a while now. Claiming to be Mrs Shahid Kapoor, the lady had been dodging security to ring his doorbell at odd hours. Needless to say, Shahid isn't too pleased with it.
So now, Shahid is looking for a 4-BHK in Bandra. "He saw a few flats on Carter Road recently. But Pali Hill is his first choice," added the source.

To replace Bin Laden on Most Wanted List - India

11  apr 2012

To replace Bin Laden on Most Wanted List, a teacher in a pornography case

Washington:  Shortly after Osama bin Laden was killed last May, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent out a request to field offices across the country: Nominate fugitives who could fill bin Laden's place on the bureau's 10 Most Wanted list.

The choice is more complicated than simply finding a violent criminal who has committed a high-profile crime. In recent years, bureau officials have also tried to select other dangerous fugitives who may have been hiding in plain sight but could be recognized by the public because they have distinctive physical features.

On Tuesday, the F.B.I. finally filled bin Laden's place on the list, adding Eric J. Toth, a schoolteacher from the Washington area accused of possessing child pornography. It was the first time since 2009 that the F.B.I. had added a fugitive to the list.

"We have had a couple of vacancies on the list that we've been trying to fill," said Kevin L. Perkins, the F.B.I.'s acting executive director for criminal and cyber operations, referring to the spots left by bin Laden and the Boston crime boss James (Whitey) Bulger, who was arrested last June.

In fact, just last month, officials were preparing to ask the bureau's director for approval to choose a fugitive accused of killing three police officers in Puerto Rico. But then that person was caught.

Using most-wanted posters to enlist the public's help in catching criminals dates to the early part of J. Edgar Hoover's tenure as the head of the F.B.I. in the early 1930s, when the face of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger was on a "public enemies list."

In 1950, the bureau began using the list of 10 Most Wanted Fugitives. The first, Thomas Holden, was accused of killing his wife and two brothers-in-law. A little more than a year later, he was caught and ultimately sent to prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco.

Since then, the F.B.I. has caught 464 of 494 fugitives on the list. Some have been captured quickly: Billie Austin Bryant, wanted for the murder of two F.B.I. agents, was apprehended in 1969 just two hours after being added. A suspect in an armed robbery, Victor Manuel Gerena, has evaded authorities since 1983.

As American society has changed, so too has the list. For decades, the F.B.I. list was displayed in post offices. But as the number of postal patrons has dropped, the bureau has put the list on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and on billboards.

"It's a big country, and you can easily hide if you are a fugitive," said Thomas W. Repetto, the author of several books on crime and policing. "But when you get on the list, you are pretty close to getting caught. Sometimes it takes time, but if you are a fleeing criminal it is not a good place to be."

The types of "most-wanted" criminals have also changed. Instead of highlighting just the most violent and high-profile criminals, "every once in a while we break the mold," Mr. Perkins said, referring to the choice of physically distinctive fugitives.

That said, six of the fugitives on the current list are accused of murder.

Mr. Toth, the fugitive added to the list on Tuesday, was arrested in 2008 after child pornography images were found on a camera in his possession. He disappeared shortly thereafter.

Mr. Toth, 30, attended Cornell for a year before transferring to Purdue University, where he graduated with an education degree. He "has often been described as a computer 'expert' and has demonstrated above-average knowledge regarding computers, the Internet, and security awareness," according to information released by the F.B.I. on Tuesday.

The F.B.I. said that Mr. Toth "possesses an education background conducive to gaining employment in fields having a connection to children" and that he might advertise himself as a tutor. Since 2008, he is believed to have traveled to Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Arizona.

The authorities believe they have a good chance of catching Mr. Toth because he has distinctive features.

"He has a mole under one of his eyes. He is tall and lanky," Mr. Perkins said. "He is the type of person that I hope, with a little exposure from being on the Top 10 list, will lead to individuals calling in, saying, 'That guy works in a day care center,' or is a teaching assistant or works down the street."

10 apr 2012

US tax filing: Help for US citizens and Green Card holders living in India

TOI

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

 

In an earlier article, we saw the US tax implications of foreign income on US citizens and green card holders living in the US. In this article, we take a look at the implications of such income on US citizens and green card holders living outside the US - specifically in India. Remember that the rules can be complicated and this article only seeks to provide a broad understanding. Consult your CPA or tax advisor for your individual situation.

 

What are the tax obligations of a US citizen or green card holder?
Florida based tax attorney Rahul Ranadive explains, ''All US citizens and green card holders must file their tax returns in the US on their global income irrespective of where they live. They must pay taxes on such foreign income unless a treaty or statutory exclusion or foreign tax credit applies to reduce their US tax liability to zero."
Residence in both countries?
The above particular requirement of the US law might give rise to some confusion. As a citizen of the US or a green card holder living outside the US, you are treated at par with a 'US resident' for tax purposes. So you must pay taxes on your global income in the US. At the same time, if you have lived in India for more than 182 days in a financial year, you are treated as a resident of India. As per the Indian income tax act, a resident of India must pay taxes in India on his global income.
While the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) talks about solving this tie-breaker, it does not mean that a person will file his returns only in the country that he qualifies as a resident (according to tie-breaker rules). Vinay Navani, a CPA and director of tax at New Jersey based firm Wilkin & Guttenplan, P C, explains, ''A US citizen or green card holder living in India will have to declare his global income in his US tax return as well as his India return. The DTAA will only help in ensuring that a particular income is not taxed twice."
Cecil Nazareth, a CPA and partner with the cross border consulting firm India-US Consulting services also clarifies, ''Most people think that they will be taxed twice on the same income. That is not true. India and the US have a treaty agreement in place and you will get tax credit in each country on the taxes paid in the other."
According to Article 4 of the DTAA between India and the US, if a person qualifies as a resident of both countries at the same time, then he shall be treated as a resident of the country where he either has a permanent home or has closer economic ties. As this can be confusing, do seek a professional advisor to help you out.
How various incomes are taxed
Since this article seeks to address the needs of US citizens and green card holders residing in India, let us assume that the individuals in this case have a permanent home in India. Now, let us look at how various incomes are taxed.
Pensions
This is perhaps a common occurrence for a lot of people so let's deal with that first. You may have lived and earned in the US but finally retired to your homeland. You draw a pension from a company in the US.

The DTAA says: Any pension, (other than a Govt pension), or any annuity derived by a resident of a Contracting State (in our case India) from sources within the other Contracting State (US) may be taxed only in the first-mentioned Contracting State.
So if you are a green card holder or US resident living in India, any pension that you receive from US will be taxed only in India. In such cases, Navani explains, ''You would include with your US tax return, Form 8833, Treaty Based Return Position Disclosure and the pension received while a resident of India would not be included in the US tax calculation. However, to get the benefit of the treaty, a US return must be filed and the Form 8833 must be included. No credit is claimed since the income is not part of the calculation of US taxable income."
For Govt pensions, the rules depend on the nature of pension. Do consult your tax advisor.
Earned income: Salaries, wages and self employment income
If you are living in India and earning a salary from a company in India, then according to the DTAA, you will be taxed only in India. Similarly, in the case of self employment income, if you earn such income from doing a business in India, you will be taxed only in India.
Since this income is taxed only in India, you must file Form 8833 - Treaty Based Return Position Disclosure to indicate that according to the treaty this income will not be taxed in the US. Having filed this form, you would not have to declare this income in your Form 1040.
Such individuals also have an option of claiming 'earned income exclusion'. Ranadive explains, ''For earned income, citizens and GC holders living abroad can exclude up to $95,100 in 2012 from their taxable income. For earned income, no foreign tax credit is allowed on the first $95,100 excluded, but foreign tax paid on the amount of salary above $95,100 can be taken as a foreign tax credit."

Pakistan talks - No headway in demilitarising killer Siachen glacier - India

09 apr 2012

The killer avalanche that trapped more than 100 Pakistani soldiers at a military camp near Siachen on Saturday and President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to India have brought the contentious Siachen glacier issue back to the centrestage.
The tragedy has brought the question of demilitarising the world's highest and most treacherous battlefield back into focus.
Several talks between India and Pakistan for demilitarisation of the glacier have failed because of Islamabad's refusal to authenticate troop positions on the glacier.
A senior army officer said on Monday India could not risk withdrawal of its troops there until Pakistan authenticated troop positions on the ground, as it would be a formidable task to reclaim the glacier.
Indian soldiers have endured war at heights of over 21,000 feet since the army made a pre-emptive move on April 13, 1984 to secure the glacier from Pakistani aggression under Operation Meghdoot.
The guns have been silent since the November 2003 ceasefire with Pakistan on the 110-km long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), but a soldier's task is cut out and the peculiarities of weather and terrain pose a formidable challenge. The daily cost of holding on to the glacier is around R5 crore.
The army has deployed around 3,000 soldiers on the glacier, a 76-km river of slow moving ice. Soldiers have to trek for almost 28 days covering a stretch of 128 km to reach some of the farthest pickets on the glacier. The army has lost at least 700 soldiers.
Strategic affairs experts say the barren battlefield is crucial for India’s security because its occupation will not allow the Pakistani army to link up with the Chinese and pose threat to Ladakh.

Priyanka Chopra, Karan Johar war: Out in the open! - India

04 apr 2012

Priyanka, Karan war: Out in the open!

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Priyanka Chopra and Karan Johar More Pics

On Tuesday, a nameless "friend" of Priyanka Chopra took up for the actress in a tabloid, taking potshots at Gauri Khan, Sussanne Roshan and producer-director Karan Johar.

Although there were no names mentioned in the story, it was very clear who the Bollywood wives being referred to were. It has been reported in the last few months that Gauri and her friends had looked through the actress at Parmeshwar Godrej's party for Oprah Winfrey and at a house party in Mannat. Sussanne even left out PC from her guestlist at Agneepath's success party at her home. The friend claimed that the spate of anti-Priyanka stories in the press were being planted by a powerful clique of star wives and asked, "If these women are insecure about relationships with their husbands, they should sort it out with them at home. Why target Priyanka?"

This has no doubt irked the star wives, who have never commented on the actresss. The said article also took off on Karan Johar. Again without taking names, it said, "PC is upset and flummoxed by the campaign unleased by a powerful producer-director who can make and break careers in Bollywood." It said that at a recent party (Karan's best friend Apoorva Mehta's birthday bash) he fed her cupckaes but later she overheard him bitching about her.

Not to take this lying down, KJo who is currently shooting his film in Bangkok, tweeted, "Using their hired PR machinery, and hiding behind so-called 'friends' to get news into tabloids is nothing but spineess and lame!!! Some people need to wake up and smell the KOFFEE!!! Get a reality check before it's too late!!! Grow up, and don't mess with goodness."

This is the first time the politicallly correct director has taken off on someone on his twitter account. When asked if he was talking about PC, he didn't deny it and simply said, "I don't want to comment on this."

Meanwhile, PC's spokesperson asked, "How do you know Karan's tweet is about Priyanka?"

16 Chinese websites closed, six detained for spreading rumours - India

31  mar 2012

16 Chinese websites closed, six detained for spreading rumours

Beijing: Chinese authorities closed 16 websites and detained six people responsible for "fabricating or disseminating online rumors," the State Internet Information Office (SIIO) and Beijing police said Friday.

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The websites, including meizhou.net, xn528.com and cndy.com.cn, were closed for spreading rumors of "military vehicles entering Beijing and something wrong going on in Beijing," which were fabricated by some lawless people recently, said a spokesman with SIIO, reported Xinhua.
The rumours have caused "a very bad influence on the public" and the websites were closed in accordance with laws for failing to stop the spread of rumours, said the spokesman.
Beijing police also detained six people for allegedly fabricating and spreading the above-mentioned rumours, particularly through microblogging posts, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security.
An undisclosed number of people who had disseminated similar rumours on the Internet were also "admonished and educated," who have shown intention to repent, the police said.

Largest Hindu temple in Russia faces eviction, demolition - India

30 mar 2012

Moscow Russia's biggest Vedic Cultural Centre housing the country's largest Hindu temple is facing demolition in St Petersburg, the hometown of President-elect Vladimir Putin, as a court has ordered its "eviction" from the leased premises.
"Following an arbitration court decision on Thursday (yesterday), the biggest Hindu Temple of Russia will now be demolished," Chairman of the Centre Suren Karapetyan said, appealing to Presidents of India and Russia to provide "urgent
help".
"We are expecting some kind of intervention from the Indian government as we are preserving the Indian culture and traditions in Russia. We appeal to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to help us in our cause and save the cultural centre and the temple from being demolished," Karapetyan said.
"We are not getting justice and we are being illegally thrown out, we had a lease agreement of 49 years," he said.
The lease deal was signed in 1992 with the state-run federal research institute, now converted into JSC "GosNIIkhimanalit" Joint Stock Company.
The federal arbitration court of the North-West district in St Petersburg has upheld the decision of 13 arbitration appeal court about the cancellation of the lease agreement between the Local Hindu Religious Organisation "Vedic Society of Spiritual Development" and JSC "Gosniikhimanalit".

"The court has refused to save the temple and has ordered the eviction of the Hindu Temple from leased premises," Karapetyan said.

Delhi Metro begins work on linking Faridabad with Delhi - India

28 mar 2012

Delhi Metro begins work on linking Faridabad with Delhi

New Delhi:  In good news for residents of Faridabad, Delhi Metro today began construction of the 14-km link that connects the satellite city with the national capital.

The laying of foundation for piers/pillars on which viaduct will be put up began today at Faridabad in the presence of Delhi Metro Managing Director Mangu Singh and officials from Haryana Government.

The first piling work started near Sector 28, Faridabad on the Mathura Road National Highway.

The fully-elevated corridor, the longest Metro line in the NCR, will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,533 crore by 2016 when the Delhi Metro's Phase-III is expected to be completed.

The Badarpur-Faridabad link is an extension of the existing Central Secretariat-Badarpur corridor and will be integrated with it after completion.

According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the daily ridership of this 13.875 km Metro corridor is expected to be 2.14 lakhs (in 2014 after commissioning of the corridor for the public).

The civil contract for the construction of this corridor has been awarded in February, 2012, and the corridor will be commissioned by end of 2014.

The average height of the pillars on this corridor will be approximately 9 meters and over 500 piers (pillar) will be erected to make the viaduct for this corridor.

"On this corridor, Delhi Metro will be using specially designed pre-cast U shaped girders to complete the viaduct in a short time of 20 months. This is for the first time in Delhi Metro's history where a single span of approx. 27 metres in length and weighing about 160 tonnes will be used," a DMRC spokesman said.

Bird flu claims sixth victim this year in Indonesia - India

27 mar 2012

Bird flu claims sixth victim this year in Indonesia

A 17-year old construction worker has died of bird flu on Indonesia's Lombok island, the sixth death from the virulent disease this year, a health ministry official said on Tuesday.
The man developed fever on February 28 and was admitted to a local hospital five days later where he died on March 9, the ministry's head of animal-borne infectious disease control said. "A laboratory result confirmed that he tested positive for the bird flu virus," Rita Kusriastuti told AFP, adding that the man contracted the H5N1 virus from poultry living around his house.
"Some ducks and chickens in his neighbourhood died of the virus, which has also been confirmed by a lab result," she said.
Concerns about avian influenza have risen in Asia since China in late December reported its first fatality from the virus in 18 months. Since then one more person has died in China.
Vietnam and Cambodia also recently reported deaths from avian influenza and the spread of the H5N1 virus in chickens in Hong Kong prompted a mass cull of birds.
Indonesia has been the nation hardest-hit by bird flu, with 155 deaths reported since 2003, according to the latest figures given by the World Health Organization, which exclude the latest death in Indonesia.
The virus typically spreads from birds to humans through direct contact, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that is easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to kill millions in a pandemic.

Chris Cairns wins libel case against Lalit Modi - India

26 mar 2012

Chris Cairns wins libel case against Lalit Modi

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London: Chris Cairns, the former New Zealand allrounder, has won his libel case against Lalit Modi and has been awarded damages of £90,000. Neither party was present when the verdict - which is open to appeal - was announced in the High Court in London.

Modi has been granted permission to appeal the verdict on damages but not liability.

Justice David Bean, who was hearing the case without a jury, also awarded Cairns £400,000 in interim costs, which Modi will have to pay within 28 days.

The judge said Modi had "singularly failed" to provide any reliable evidence that Cairns was involved in match-fixing or spot-fixing, or even strong grounds for suspicion of cheating.

"It is obvious that an allegation that a professional cricketer is a match-fixer goes to the core attributes of his personality and, if true, entirely destroys his reputation for integrity," Justice Bean said. "The allegation is not as serious as one of involvement in terrorism or sexual offences (to take two examples from recent cases). But it is otherwise as serious an allegation as anyone could make against a professional sportsman."

In a statement read out on his behalf after the verdict, Cairns said it "lifts a dark cloud hanging over me" for the past two years. "I feel great joy because my past creer has come through this unscathed and remains intact. I had the courage to stand up in the highest court to defend my name. I feel great relief that I am able to walk into any cricket ground in the world with my head held high."

On January 5, 2010, Modi tweeted that Cairns had been removed from the forthcoming IPL auction list because of his involvement with match-fixing. Cairns denied this but Modi responded by saying: "Let him sue us, then we will produce what we have in court." Cairns issued the writ in London's High Court in January 2010, shortly after Modi's claims were made public.

Cairns was captain of Chandigarh Lions in the Indian Cricket League but had his contract terminated in October 2008, during the third edition of the tournament. The official reason given was that Cairns had breached the terms of his contract by failing to disclose an ankle injury.

During the trial, Cairns spent almost eight hours giving evidence over two days. His witnesses included his wife Mel and advisor Andrew Fitch-Holland.

Japan to push anti-terror measures at nuclear plants - India

25 mar 2012

Japan to push anti-terror measures at nuclear plants

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Tokyo:  The U.S. had repeatedly warned Japan about vulnerabilities at its nuclear plants in case of a September 11-style terror attack. It turned out Washington was right about the soft spots, but wrong about the enemy that would strike them.

When nature unleashed its own fury on Japan last year with a devastating tsunami, a list of U.S. recommendations proved highly prescient. The elements Washington identified as most vulnerable in an attack - spent fuel pools, cooling systems, backup electricity - were the ones worst hit in Japan's disaster.

Tokyo had ignored the recommendations, which were implemented at U.S. nuclear sites, because Japanese officials thought the chances of terrorist-flown aircraft striking its plants were remote.

But as leaders from around the world head to Seoul for a major summit this week on nuclear security, Japan's disaster at its Fukushima plant has provided a salient example of how solid protections against terrorist attacks go hand in hand with protections against natural disasters.

The summit is primarily about ways to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists, but the Japanese government plans to propose a series of Fukushima-inspired measures to enhance emergency power backup systems and advocate a closer link between anti-terror security and general safety issues.

"We have to imagine the unimaginable," Kensuke Yoshida, the director of the arms control and disarmament division of Japan's Foreign Ministry and a member of Japan's delegation, told The Associated Press.

"Once an incident happens, the consequences will be extremely grave, whether caused by a natural disaster or terrorists," Mr Yoshida said.

Japan had been slow to make that connection.

Documents made public since Japan's nuclear crisis began last year suggest the scenario that played out in Fukushima was by no means unforeseeable - it was simply ignored.

After the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a number of directives to the domestic nuclear industry based on a review of what might happen if an airliner hijacked by terrorists was crashed into an atomic plant.

It expressed concern that such an attack could cripple a plant's power system, and proposed portable diesel-driven pumps, portable power supplies and hoses be made readily available so that reactor cores can be kept cool to prevent them from going into dangerous, radiation-spewing meltdowns. It also suggested measures to provide backup cooling water to the vulnerable spent fuel pools.

The suggestions were passed on to Japan several times, but Tokyo dismissed them because it regarded the recommendations as a terrorism issue and did not think it faced a significant terrorist threat, according to Tetsuya Endo, a former diplomat and vice chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan.

"The agency that got the recommendations just put them in their pocket. No one else knew anything about it," said Mr Endo, who is on an independent fact-finding commission that recently released a scathing review of Japan's response to the crisis.

"We are an island nation with an island mentality. We see ourselves as free from the possibility of terrorist attack," he said.

Last year's March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated the very systems that the NRC had found to be weakest. Fukushima experienced the electrical blackout that it warned of, and three of its reactors went into meltdowns, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate as plant workers struggled to find ways to keep them cool.

In recent testimony before a parliament-appointed investigative panel, Haruki Madarame, a nuclear physicist and head of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission, acknowledged that Japan should have taken the U.S. findings more seriously.

"Even though we were aware of the issue and knew that they were taking steps, we didn't do anything," he said. "When other countries were discussing the problems, we only wasted time trying to find excuses why we didn't have to do it."

Edwin Lyman, a nuclear terrorism expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said Japan's crisis is a good case-in-point for experts who have long warned that anti-terrorism measures need to be enhanced.

"The Fukushima accident has certainly illustrated the dependence of nuclear plants on electrical power supply, both off- and on-site, and how core damage can occur solely as a result of a prolonged loss of power in the absence of timely intervention," he said.

But he said the disconnect between policymakers who are primarily concerned with anti-terror measures and those focused on mitigating natural disasters continues to be a major problem.

Mr Lyman said the United States' post-9/11 recommendations, which were made public in May to support the NRC's argument that the U.S. was prepared for a Fukushima-type event, reflected that imbalance.

"The measures were specifically intended to help plants survive the impact of a single aircraft, and not to survive other types of initiating events, like earthquakes and floods," he said. "In fact, the U.S. guidance specified that such equipment did not have to be seismically qualified."

Because of the Fukushima example, he said, the NRC is now updating its measures to take into account a wider variety of challenges.

Private colleges looking to shut down triple in a year - India

24 mar 2012

Private colleges looking to shut down triple in a year

HT

As many as 138 private institutes across the country, including 65 management and 15 engineering colleges, have sought permission to close from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). This is more than three times the number of institutes that had come up with the request last year.

“We have received applications for closure from 138 institutes. But the final closure can be done only after we get a no-objection certificate from the state governments and the universities concerned,” said SS Mantha, chairman, AICTE.

Of the 138 colleges that have sought permission in this regard, 53 are from Andhra Pradesh. As many as 3,800 engineering colleges and 4,000 management colleges in the country come under the AICTE. Mantha said the council has received applications for opening 669 new institutes this year. “If we take this into consideration, I am sure there will be an overall increase in the number of institutes, even after closure of some that have applied.”
Stating that a majority of the institutes say they are not able to get students, he said, “Most of them are located in remote areas, possess poor infrastructure facilities, and have practically zero interaction with industries. The institutes will have to enhance interaction with the industry if they want to boost employment opportunities for students,” he said.
In a bid to bolster industry-institute interaction and increase employment, the AICTE will identify private institutes across the country on a nominative basis, where industries can set up their research arms, Mantha said. “To begin with, we will identify 100 institutes where industries can set up research centres from the next academic session. This can later develop into clusters,” he added.

Louvre unveils Da Vinci's 'last masterpiece' - India

23 mar 2012

Louvre unveils Da Vinci's 'last masterpiece'

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Paris:  The Louvre on Friday unveiled a newly-restored Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece, the "Saint Anne", hoping to lay to rest an art world row that saw the Paris museum accused of endangering the precious oil.

"The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", which the Renaissance master left unfinished when he died in 1519, goes on display on Thursday as the star of a major exhibit exploring the work's genesis, and its place in art history.

Da Vinci began painting the "Saint Anne", which depicts the baby Jesus grappling with a lamb beside his mother and grandmother, in 1503. When he died, the work was acquired by France's King Francis I, the artist's last patron.

"The story of the 'Saint Anne' is the story of the last 20 years of Da Vinci's life," said Vincent Delieuvin, curator of the exhibit dubbed "'Saint Anne', Leonardo Da Vinci's last masterpiece."

The show brings together 130 drawings, preparatory studies by the master, earlier versions of the work by his workshop, writings referring to the "Saint Anne" and works influenced by it -- including by Raphael or Michelangelo.

Mr Delieuvin explained at a press preview he built the exhibition like a "police investigation, with all the clues to understanding the painting."

Sketches by Da Vinci, full size cartoons -- pinpricked drawings used to mark out the form of the composition -- and "Saint Anne" paintings carried out by his atelier, show how he moved through three versions of the religious scene.

Each time he made minor adjustments, until the final composition in which the Virgin Mary seems to pull the baby Jesus away from the lamb -- symbol of the sacrifice he is to make -- as the wise Saint Anne urges her to let him go.

The show is the culmination of a high-sensitive 18-month restoration project.

After six months in a laboratory, the "Saint Anne" spent a year in the workshops of the French Museums' Centre for Research and Restoration, the C2RMF near the Louvre, in the hands of the museum's chosen restorer Cinzia Pasquali.

Ms Pasquali stressed the restoration was not for aesthetic reasons.

"This was about caring for a sick patient," she told AFP. "From a conservation point of view we had to intervene, primarily to address a cracking of the varnish that could leave the paint exposed to damage."

That said, the "Saint Anne" has been transformed by the work.

Ageing varnish had left it disfigured by stains, now all but gone, with the overall effect one of lifting a yellow-brown veil, to reveal the soft blue of the Virgin's dress -- and a wealth of detail like a rocky pool of water bathing the subjects' feet.

"The build-up of varnish had as if flattened out the painting," said Pierre Curie, head of paintings at the C2RMF. "Restoring it has given it volume again, like a sculpture set in a landscape."

From details like the lamb's tail or the draping on the subjects' dresses, "we can see plainly that the work is unfinished," Ms Pasquali said, "something we knew from other sources, but now we can actually see it."

"Some believe Mary's face is so diaphanous it may be unfinished too -- but I think he wanted it that way, to suggest her purity."

Ms Pasquali's restoration for the Louvre hit a rock last year over concerns that a solvent used to thin the varnish could remove actual paint, with two experts resigning in protest from the committee overseeing the work.

"I don't really understand the reasons for the row," Ms Pasquali said. "We stayed a long way from the pictorial layer -- you can't damage something you are not touching."

One of the dissenting experts, Segolene Bergeon Langle, interviewed in the Louvre's in-house magazine, said she had since been reassured on some aspects of the restoration.

But she remained unhappy about others, such as the decision to remove a white patch on the body of the baby Jesus, which she believes may have been added by Da Vinci's hand.

More generally, critics' fears centred on the faces of Saint Anne and Mary and on the "sfumato", layers of clear paint used by Da Vinci to create smoky, soft contours.

To defuse tensions, the Louvre chose to leave an extra thickness of varnish on the subjects' fragile faces. It also ruled out removing some elements, like a group of tree trunks, even though they are thought to have been added in the 19th century.

"The Louvre has a very moderate cleaning policy," said Curie. "When we return to the painting, which we inevitably will do in 30, or 50 years, stopping at this level will give us a safety margin."

Cosmetic surgery fine if it boosts one's confidence: Priyanka - India

21 mar 2012


Cosmetic surgery fine if it boosts one's confidence: Priyanka

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Stressing that one must be content with the natural looks, actress Priyanka Chopra says cosmetic surgery is fine only to the extent that it boosts up one's confidence level.

"Cosmetic surgery becomes wrong only when it becomes a disease and you stop loving yourself for what you are. When you start thinking that a surgeon's knife can make you look better than what god gave you...so it is important to accept who you are," Priyanka told reporters at an event last night.

Interestingly, there were reports that Priyanka herself had went under knife to get her nose fixed, however, like any other actress she too had denied going the plastic way.

"As judgmental as we are about cosmetic surgery we (Bollywood actresses) should not be the first and foremost to do it. Not that I believe in cosmetic surgery, I am not judgmental about individual choices. I feel somewhere you lose your confidence because of certain things. But if you can make yourself look better to feel better then I don't think there is anything wrong with it (cosmetic surgery)," said the actress who is known for her pout.

Sultry actress Bipasha Basu is also reported to have underone surgery and so do Shilpa Shetty, Sushmita Sen, Kangana Ranuat, Minissha Lamba, Esha Deol and others, though they have denied the reports

Underweight models in ads banned in this country - India

19 mar 2012

Underweight models in ads banned in this country

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Jerusalem:  A new Israeli law is trying to fight the spread of eating disorders by banning underweight models from local advertising and requiring publications to disclose when they use altered images to make women and men appear thinner.

The law, passed late on Monday, appears to be the first attempt by any government to use legislation to take on a fashion industry accused of abetting eating disorders by idealizing extreme thinness. It could become a model for other countries grappling with the spread of anorexia and bulimia, particularly among young women.

The law's supporters said they hoped it would encourage the use of healthy models in local advertising and heighten awareness of digital tricks that transform already thin women into illusory waifs.

"We want to break the illusion that the model we see is real," said Liad Gil-Har, assistant to law sponsor Dr. Rachel Adato, who compares the battle against eating disorders to the struggle against smoking.

In Israel, about 2 percent of all girls between 14 and 18 have severe eating disorders, which is a statistic similar to other developed countries, said anthropologist Sigal Gooldin who studies eating disorders.

The new law requires models to produce a medical report, dating back no more than three months, at every shoot that will be used on the Israeli market, stating that they are not malnourished by World Health Organization standards.

The U.N. agency uses a standard known as the body mass index - calculated by dividing weight by height - to determine malnutrition. WHO says a body-mass index below 18.5 is indicative of malnutrition, said Adato, a gynecologist.

Any advertisement published for the Israeli market must also have a clearly written notice disclosing if the model used in it was digitally altered to make her, or him, look thinner. The law will not apply to foreign publications sold in Israel.

The law was championed by one of Israel's top model agents, Adi Barkan, who said in 30 years of work, he saw young women become skinnier and sicker while struggling to fit the shrinking mold of what the industry considered attractive.

"They look like dead girls," Barkan said.

Critics said the legislation should have focused on health, not weight, saying many models were naturally very thin.

"The health of the model ... should be evaluated. Our weight can change hour to hour," said David Herzog, a professor of psychiatry and a leading US expert on eating disorders.

Top Israeli model Adi Neumman said she wouldn't pass under the new rules, because her BMI was 18.3. Neumman said she ate well and exercised. She said legislation should have focused on health and well-being, not weight.

"Force actual tests. Make girls go to a doctor. Get a system to follow girls who are found to be puking," she said.

Legislator Adato said only 5 percent of women had BMI that naturally fell under 18.5.

"On the one hand, maybe we'll hurt a few models," Adato said. "On the other hand, we'll save a lot of children."

Pressure on the fashion industry has intensified in recent years, sparked by the deaths of models in Brazil and Uruguay from medical complications linked to eating disorders.

Uruguayan model, Luisel Ramos, 22, collapsed soon after stepping off the runway in August 2006, reportedly of anorexia-linked heart failure.
Other governments have taken steps to prevent "size zero" medical problems, but have shied from legislation.

The Madrid fashion show bans women whose BMI is below 18. Milan's fashion week bans models with a BMI below 18.5.

The UK and US have guidelines, but the fashion industry is self-regulated.

Unrealistic body images in the media are believed to shape eating habits, especially among young people, though there is debate about how influential they are.

Gooldin, the anthropologist, said young women used in television, movies and advertisements as references for the ideal body, rather than the women around them.

"There's a gap between our own bodies ... and ideal bodies. They keep shrinking and getting smaller," she said.

It's not clear whether the law will have a measurable impact, because Israeli teens take their cues from both international media and local publications, Gooldin said. And the ban isn't likely to affect many - there are only about 300 professional models in Israel, and only a few work abroad, said agent Barkan and model Neumman.

But Gooldin said it was a positive step to deal with a problem that has plagued Western societies.

Legislator Adato said she hoped Israel would be an example other countries could study.

"You don't need to be underweight to be beautiful, or successful," she said.

19 mar 2012

India likely to vote against Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes, says PM

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Click to Expand & Play

New Delhi:  The Prime Minister said today in Parliament that India is inclined to vote against Sri Lanka at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. A resolution against the Sri Lankan government for alleged war crimes and human rights violations has been moved by the US, Norway and France.

"We do not yet have the final text of the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka. However, I may assure the House that we are inclined to vote in favour of a resolution that we hope will advance our objective, namely the achievement of a future for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect," said Dr Singh.

Dr Manmohan Singh's comments have placated his ally, the DMK, which has threatened to pull out of the coalition at the centre if India either abstained or supported Sri Lanka at the vote. The DMK has 18 Lok Sabha MPs and is needed for the government's survival. "We welcome the announcement if it's true," said the party's president, M Karunanidhi, adding "(but) we will wait for the final decision."

All parties from Tamil Nadu have been urging the Centre to take a strong stand on the atrocities allegedly committed by the Sri Lankan government in ending the country's civil war and extinguishing the LTTE. The deaths of Sri Lanka Tamils - 40,000 according to some reports - has been an emotional issue in Tamil Nadu.

Dismissing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement as "non-committal and futile", Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said, "He didn't make any reference to human rights violations. He has not said Sri Lanka will be condemned for these."

In a statement today, the Ministry of External Affairs stressed that Foreign Affairs Minister SM Krishna is "giving great importance to views expressed by MPs from Tamil Nadu" and that India will study the draft of the resolution against Sri Lanka and then take a call on its vote.

Sources have told NDTV that New Delhi is furiously working the back channels to get political parties in Tamil Nadu as well big international players on board for the right wording of the resolution. One compromise that is reportedly being worked on is to get the United Nations to condemn the LTTE excesses, even as it asks Colombo to implement the recommendations of the govt-appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.

Sri Lanka has insisted it needs time and space to implement the commission's recommendations.

"The government and our parliament is now in the process of looking at the recommendations and take step by step measures as they are recommended. We want home grown solutions. We are a democracy for the last sixty years. We are a responsible government, and our leaders have to be elected, so they will take this thing step-by-step like other democracies, like (say) India," said Prasad Kariyavasam, Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India.