Double-decker AC train from Delhi to Jaipur - India

25  aug 2012

Now, a double-decker air conditioned train to take you from Delhi to Jaipur

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiothoracic Cardiac Heart surgeon India

New Delhi: Passengers to Jaipur can now take a ride on an air conditioned double-decker train. Railway Minister Mukul Roy flagged off the train at a function in the capital which was attended by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and a host of other political leaders and senior railway officials.

The train will run between Delhi's Sarai Rohilla and Jaipur and carry 120 passengers in a coach as compared to about 80 passengers in a conventional coach. A ticket will cost Rs. 347.

The train will leave from here at 5.35 pm and arrive in the Pink city at 10.05 pm the same day.

In the return direction, commencing regular services from August 25, the Jaipur-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Double Decker AC will depart from Jaipur daily at 6 am to reach Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 10.30 am the same day.

Comprising eight AC chair car coaches and two power cars, the double-decker AC train services will stop for 2 minutes each at Delhi Cantt., Gurgaon and Gandhi Nagar, Jaipur stations enroute in both directions.

In all, Railways proposes to introduce five AC double-decker trains across the country, the first of which started running last year between Howrah and Dhanbad. Mumbai-Ahmedabad is next in the line to have a double-decker train.

A claim that dinosaur footprint found at NASA center- INDIA

23 AUG 2012

A claim that dinosaur footprint found at NASA center

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiothoracic Cardiac Heart surgeon India

File picture

Washington: An amateur dinosaur hunter claimed to have discovered a rare cretaceous footprint from a nodosaur at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, most likely left more than 110 million years ago.

Ray Stanford believes the dinosaur was running potentially away from a predator, when it left the footprint.

"This is really quite a rare find," the New York Daily News quoted Mr Stanford as saying in a video posted on NASA's website this week.

"Nodosaur tracks are not often found.

"There are some out West and up in British Columbia and Canada, but we don't have a whole lot of them in the US," he said.

Stanford told the Washington Post that the plant-eating dinosaur made the nearly 14-inch-wide imprint with his back left foot.

Excited by the discovery, NASA scientists have accepted Stanford's research, and will reportedly bring in more expert opinions to fully confirm the finding.

Barack Obama slams 'offensive' remarks, insists: 'Rape is rape'- India

20 aug 2012

Barack Obama slams 'offensive' remarks, insists: 'Rape is rape'

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiothoracic Cardiac Heart surgeon India

Washington: Coming out strongly against a Republican lawmaker's definition of a "legitimate rape", US President Barack Obama on Monday termed his remarks as offensive and insisted that a "rape is a rape" and there can be no differentiation in it.

"The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we're talking about doesn't make sense to the American people, and certainly doesn't make sense to me," Mr Obama told reporters at a White House news conference.

Congressman Todd Akin, who is his party's Senate candidate from Missouri, has apologised for his comment which he made during an interview when asked if he would support abortions for women who have been raped.

"It seems to me first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,"
Mr Akin said.

"I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women," Mr Obama said when asked about the comments made by Mr Akin, which according to him was way out there.

"Although these particular comments have led Governor (Mitt) Romney and other Republicans to distance themselves, I think the underlying notion that we should be making decisions on behalf of women for their health care decisions, or qualifying forcible rape versus non-forcible rape, I think those are broader issues, and that is a significant difference in approach between me and the other party," said the US President.

On Monday, Mr Akin apologised for his remarks. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, was quick to distance himself from such a remark coming from his party colleague. Romney termed those remarks as "inexcusable".

Earlier the White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, told reporters that Mr Akins remarks reflects an effort in Congress in particular to define rape in a way that makes no sense to a lot of women and demonstrates why it is so important for women to be in control of their own health care.

"Those comments are obviously offensive. Clearly offensive. And factually wrong, medically wrong, and offensive. I think you have also seen efforts in Congress to define rape in a way that limits women's control over their own health care, and that's wrong too," Mr Carney said.

Illegal migrants turn Assam into drug hub - India

19 AUG 2012

Illegal migrants turn Assam into drug hub

The Assam-Bangladesh border, often used by illegal immigrants to enter India, is now posing another headache for the government. 

 

Officials say many immigrants are cultivating ganja on a large scale on both sides of the Brahmaputra in western Assam. The drug menace was highlighted by officials from the tax department, narcotics, customs, police and intelligence agencies during a meeting in Shillong. 

 They said ganja was being cultivated in the river’s sandbars using farming equipment such as tillers, tractors and fertilisers.

“The illicit trade fetches a lot of money,” read an official note. “The culprits are mainly illegal (Bangladeshi) immigrants with money and power, who have penetrated the heartlands of Assam,” it added.

Thanks to the difficult terrain and remote locations picked by the culprits, the authorities have been caught on the back foot. “By the time we destroy one crop, another comes up,” said a narcotics official.

In several areas, ganja farming has replaced food crops and oilseeds that used to be cultivated there. “The area has become the main ganja granary, with supplies going to Bangladesh and mainland India. It is a focal area as far as the drug mafia is concerned,” the official said.

11-year-old girl arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy - India

18 aug 2012

11-year-old girl arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy

Islamabad: An 11-year-old Christian girl has been arrested in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on a charge of blasphemy after she was accused of burning pages of the Quran, police said today.

Officials of Ramna police station said a First Information Report (FIR) had been registered against Rimsha Masih, a resident of Umara Jaffar in Sector G-12 in Islamabad.

The girl was arrested on Friday by personnel from a women's police station after a man named Syed Muhammad Ummad filed a complaint against her.

However, an NGO named 'Christians in Pakistan' reported on its website that the girl has 'Down Syndrome' and had been falsely accused of burning 10 pages of the Quran.

The NGO said other Christians living in Sector G-12 had been "threatened by extremists" who wanted to burn down their village on Friday.

It said some 300 people had left their homes and were in hiding due to the threats.

The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) is providing assistance to people who have left their homes.

National Harmony Minister Paul Bhatti, who is also the chairman of the APMA, has contacted Islamic clerics and police to bring the situation under control.

Rights activists have urged the government to reform or repeal the controversial blasphemy law, which they say is often misused to persecute minorities like Christians.

Federal Minister Paul Bhatti's brother Shahbaz Bhatti, who was the Minister for Minority Affairs, was gunned down by extremists in Islamabad in March last year after he called for the repeal of the blasphemy law.

Kenny the Clown had Steve Jobs' stolen iPad - India

17 aug 2012

Kenny the Clown had Steve Jobs' stolen iPad

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiothoracic Cardiac Heart surgeon India

Palo Alto, California: An iPad stolen from the home of the late Steve Jobs ended up in the hands of a professional clown who had no idea it was pilfered from the Apple co-founder's house.

Kenneth Kahn, also known as Kenny the Clown, says he unwittingly received the stolen tablet from a friend who was later arrested for breaking into the Jobs residence in Palo Alto.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that Mr Kahn says he never examined the device's contents. Instead he downloaded songs to play while entertaining kids and tourists.

Mr Kahn says he had no idea where the iPad came from until his friend, 35-year-old Kariem McFarlin of Alameda, was arrested Aug. 2.

Mr Kahn says he had it for a few days before police came asking for the purloined tablet.

On Independence Day, PM pushes for growth, links it to security - India

15 aug 2012

On I-Day, PM pushes for growth, links it to security

  

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiothoracic Cardiac Heart Surgeon India

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used his Independence Day speech on Wednesday to push for economic growth, cautioning that it was linked to national security. He also blamed “a lack of political consensus” for growth lagging behind.

“If we do not increase the pace of economic growth, take steps to encourage new investment, improve the management of government finances and work for the livelihood security of the common man and energy security, then it most certainly affects our national security,” Singh said.

However, the PM assured, the armed forces were equipped to meet all eventualities, playing down fears about preparedness following a leaked letter written by former army chief V K Singh. “Our armed forces and paramilitary forces have defended our country... with valour and honour,” he said.

While dwelling heavily on the economic situation, the PM had little new to offer. He admitted that domestic developments too were hindering growth but expressed hope that GDP growth would be “a little better” than last year’s 6.5 per cent. The Twelfth Five Year Plan, he said, will seek measures to increase the rate to 9 per cent.

Underlining the need to create jobs, the PM said a scheme for skill development would train eight crore people.

The PM also spoke about the violence in Assam, calling it “unfortunate”. “Our government will make every effort to understand the reasons.”

On internal security, Singh said Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast had seen a fall in violence but Naxalism was an issue. “The incidents which occurred in Pune point to the need for much more work in the area of national security,” he said.

Singh also announced the Cabinet’s approval to the Mars Orbiter Mission, calling it “a huge step” in science and technology.

While urging all parties to help pass the Lokpal Bill, the PM said that in bringing transparency, effort must be made to not affect the “morale of public functionaries”.