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Saturday, February 7, 2009

Kidnapping MLA’s Daughter in Manglore, Two Arrested

this news update by www.apakistannews.com
Mangalore: City police on Saturday arrested two persons in connection with the kidnapping of the daughter of a CPI(M) MLA yesterday. The incident happened on Friday afternoon, when the daughter of a CPI(M) MLA was attacked, allegedly, by Sri Ram Sena and Bajrang Dal activists for talking to a Muslim male friend.

The incident took place at 3.30 pm when Shruti, the daughter of CPM MLA Kunjambu, was on her way to Mangalore from Kasirgarh after a vacation by a bus.

The activists attacked the 12th standard student in the bus while she was talking to a Muslim male friend. They dragged both of them out of the bus and beat them before forcefully putting them in an auto and kidnapping them. The girl was released after an hour while the boy is reportedly missing.

Kunjambu had confirmed the incident saying, “My daughter was coming back to home after the vacation by a bus. The conductor of the bus belonged to BJP. He informed the Ram Sena and Bajrang Dal goons who attacked my daughter, dragged her and her friend out of the bus and kidnapped them.”

He further added, “My daughter was released after almost an hour.”


this news published by www.apakistannews.com

Friday, February 6, 2009

War Trend Will Soon Face Its End

this news update by www.apakistannews.com
A strategy to end all wars
History has it that there was not yet a single year without war in history known to a mankind, and that war has been fought since time immemorial. Therefore, the biggest question today would be: Is it really possible to end wars? Throughout our human history we heard many politicians, leaders and rulers saying that there will be no more wars and that things will change, but nothing has changed. Even today, there are around thirty ongoing wars in the world.

Consequently, how and who will end wars: the United Nations, Non-Government Organizations, International Laws and Conventions, who?

The United Nations was established to stop wars between countries, to provide a platform for dialogue, and to maintain international peace and security, and justice. The UN has very noble charters and articles; however, the UN is not capable to maintain international peace and security. In one word; the UN is not influential and strong enough because some Member States do not respect the UN Charters.

Why the UN is not capable to maintain international peace and security? Perhaps, statements by the former US President George W. Bush and former US Ambassador to the UN John R. Biden will provide some answer. President Bush said; “free nations will not allow the United Nations to fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant debating society.” The Ambassador Biden said; “There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States.”

Because of such statements and hegemony of some Member States to get their will throughout, the UN is not able to prevent wars; it can only assist Member States in humanitarian issues and try to maintain peace with peacekeeping missions, after all military operations ends. The only serious resolutions issued by the UN will be visible when the Security Council passes its power to the General Assembly, and therefore, when the General Assembly get serious in its business and start working as one voice to bring peace to the world.

When it comes to NGO’s, well, they are private institutions which are not directly a part of a structure of government, but relies significantly on funding from governments, individual donors, foundations, corporations. Currently, there are over 5 million NGO’s around the world, out of which 0.1% is actually doing their jobs in terms of supporting and helping people in distress. Other 99.9% can be divided in two categories: ones who lobby for their financiers and others who do nothing at all, just waiting for easy money to come.

Pertaining to the International Laws and Charters, they are more or less associated with the United Nations, and without the UN they do not stand any chance of survival.

Then, how to prevent wars?

We saw that the international organizations and laws are not able to do anything serious to prevent wars; therefore, the answer for this global phenomenon lies in the domestic laws, not international. In order to prevent future wars we should focus our attention on domestic issues first. In relation, here are some possible solutions how to prevent wars, trough terms called the Head of State and Referendum.

According to definition, the Head of State is the general term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state. In terms of protocol, states are distinguished as monarchy or republic, depending on the style of their head of state.

Different state constitutions establish different political systems, but four major types of heads of state can be distinguished:

1. the non-executive head of state system, in which the head of state does not hold any executive power and mainly plays a symbolic role on behalf of the state;
2. the parliamentary system, in which the head of state possesses executive power but the exercise of this power is done on the advice of a cabinet;
3. the presidential system (sometimes called ‘imperial’), in which the head of state is also the head of government and actively exercises executive power; and,
4. the semi-presidential system, in which the head of state shares exercise of executive power with a head of government.

In everyday life, the Head of State is a legal representative of the people-citizens of the country in which he/she was elected. His/hers duties, therefore is to serve and work in the best interest of the nation which he/she represents as the Head of State.

Consequently, if the Head of State-collective office wishes to start a war and think that war is in the best interest of the nation, than it behooves on them to go to that same war. There is no better way for the Head of State-collective office to justify war than to be personally involved in one. They should not hide behind their desks and behind diplomatic immunities while soldiers die on the battle field, they should go and fight and it should be their honor.

This is nothing new to the world; many years ago Head of States and rulers went to wars to fight, for example: Genghis Khan, Saladin, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra VII, Julius Caesar, Napoleon I, Adolf Hitler, among many others. Maybe, when they find themselves in the middle of war and on the line of fire, then they will realize how wars are dangerous and hopefully end them.

Since there is no chance that we will see a Head of State brave enough to go to war, let’s see more appropriate and reasonable solution to prevent the war trend, called referendum.

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy.

In contemporary days, war can be declared and started with the decision of the Head of State-Monarch-collective office, however, that needs to be changed. Before the government decides to engage in war, government should ask citizens for their approval. Approval to engage in war should be asked trough the War Referendum. It is nothing personal, however, certain decisions are best taken out of the hands of governments and determined directly by the people, especially when it comes to war.

Referendum is the best way to identify the spirit of the nation, and many countries have used it, for example: In Venezuela, in the Venezuelan recall referendum of 2004 voters determined whether or not Hugo Chavez, the current President of Venezuela, should be recalled from office. In Spain, in 1986 referendum approved Spain’s membership to NATO. In Brazil, in 2005 referendum, 122 million voters decided to continue to allow the sale of firearms in Brazil. In Iraq, two years after the United States-led invasion, the current Constitution of Iraq was approved by referendum.

There is also one very popular referendum, called the independence referendum, a type of referendum in which citizens of one territory would decide whether that territory should become independent country. There were many successful independence referendums in the past, such as: 1990 Slovenia independence referendum, 1991 Croatian, Macedonian, Georgia and Ukraine independence referendum, 1993 Eritrean independence referendum, and most recent 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, among others.

Also, here is a list of some expected independence referendums which will be held in the near future, such as: Scottish (the UK), Bougainville (Papa New Guinea), New Caledonia (France), Quebec (Canada), Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), among others.

Still, there are some countries that do not like to use referendums, such as: Canada, the United States, Chile, the Netherlands, among others. Imagine who many lives would be saved if the US government had used a referendum before engaging in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Some politicians say that referendums are too expensive to be held, but are they. For example, in Denmark referendums usually happen every time when new treaties of the European Union have to be approved. Therefore, referendums are not expensive, wars are.

We can see that many important issues are determined by the people trough referendums, but never when it comes to wars. Why is there no war referendum? Because there is no nation in the world which will vote in favor of war and government officials knows that.

Maybe, this is the time when we the people should take the matters into our own hands and stop this war trend since nobody else can.

By Ivan Simic
Address: Paloticeva 12, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Tel: +381 63 7508500


03444170445


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Pakistan Spy Agency Behind 26/11: India

this news update by www.zeenews.com
India has for the first time directly accused Pakistan’s powerful military intelligence agency the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of involvement in last year’s Mumbai attacks.

“The perpetrators planned, trained and launched their attacks from Pakistan, and the organisers were and remain clients and creations of the ISI,” Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said in a speech in Paris on Thursday that was picked up by the Indian media.

In January, India handed Pakistan what it said was evidence linking “elements” in Pakistan to the November attacks on India’s financial capital, in which 10 gunmen killed 165 people during a 60-hour siege.

Delhi has blamed the attacks on the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is active in Indian-ruled Kashmir, but the Pakistan-based organisation has denied responsibility.

Earlier this week Pakistani Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani assured India that his government would hand over the results of its own investigation into the attacks soon. Pakistan has confirmed that the lone surviving Mumbai gunman, now in Indian custody, is one of its citizens. But it has insisted that the attackers were “non-state actors.”


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Dr Abdul Qadeer Free Citizen Declared By Court

this news update by www.breakingalert.blogspot.com
A bench of Islamabad High Court on Friday declared renowned nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer as a free citizen of the country and ordered for removing all restrictions on his free movement.

Dr Abdul Qadeer wants to spend his time in the research work, the scientists’ counsel Barrister Ali Zafar told media after the court decision.

The court also ordered VIP security for Qadeer and said that he can meet his relatives and friends without restrictions.

Chief Justice Mr. Justice Sardar Mohammed Aslam heard the arguments of Dr Qadeer’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar over a petition challenging detention of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan.


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Auction of IPL Season 2 Turn off

this news update by www.apakistannews.com
The D-Day is here! The much awaited auctions for the second season of the high profile Indian Premier League are set to take place in Goa today.

Following Michael Clarke’s last minute pull-out, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s announcement that all negotiations with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) were successfully completed, ensured that the second season won’t be derived of any star-power.

In a press conference on Thursday, Modi also announced that a total of 17 slots were up for Friday’s auction and the franchises have to spend their remaining amount or it would lapse.

Responding to queries on Pakistani players’ participation in the Indian Premiere League, Modi said, “It is now confirm that Pakistan government has denied permission to it’s players from visiting India and hence IPL franchises have the right to suspend or terminate their contracts.”

“The decision in this regard will be purely taken by team owners who have bought these players. However, incase they terminate the contract, franchise would might risk of purchasing the same player at a higher price when they are available.”

Modi said, “Terminating a contract will throw open the slot for the franchise team and they can bid for a new player from the selected pool of 115 players.”

IPL season two would also adopt a stringent anti doping measures assured the commissioner.

Modi on auction

Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi also confirmed that out of 50 players, 17 will be bought in the second IPL auction in Goa tomorrow.

“A total of USD 13.59 million dollar could be spent in the auction,” Modi said.

‘One over eliminator’ to replace ‘Bowl-Out’ rule

Introducing the One Over Eliminator rule, Modi said, “The ICC gave us two options — One Over Eliminator or Bowl-Out and we opted for the Eliminator.”

Final list of players and their base prices in USD:

Australia: Aaron Bird 45,000, Brett Geeves 45,000, Bryce McGain 50,000, Daniel Harris 50,000, Dominic Thornley 50,000, George Bailey 50,000, Jonathan Moss 50,000, Michael Dighton 85,000, Michael Hill 50,000, Phil Jacques 100,000, Shane Harwood 75,000, Shaun Tait 250,000, Steven Smith 75,000 and Stuart Clark 250,000.

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza 50,000, Mohammed Ashraful 75,000, Shakib Al Hasan 75,000, Tamim Iqbal 50,000.

England: Andrew Flintoff 950,000, Pietersen 1,35,000, Luke Wright 150,000, Owais Shah 150,000, Paul Collingwood 250,000, Ravi Bopara 150,000 and Samit Patel 100,000.

New Zealand: James Franklin 50,000, Jesse Ryder 100,000 and Kyle Mills 150,000.

South Africa: Gulam Bodi 100,000, J P Duminy 300,000, Morne Van Wyk 100,000, Tyron Henderson 100,000 and Yusuf Abdullah 25,000.

Sri Lanka: Chamara Kapugedara 150,000, Kaushalya Weereratne 50,000, Nuwan Kulasekera 100,000 and Thilan Tushara 100,000.

West Indies: Dwayne Smith (To be confirmed), Fidel Edwards 150,000

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New Zealand Beat Australia in 2nd ODI by 6 wickets

this news update by www.breakingalert.com
New Zealand beat Australia by 6 wickets in the second one day match here on Friday with 7 balls remaining.
Watch Live Cricket Match

Australia slid to their fifth consecutive defeat at home. The home side’s 226 total was a competitive target on a slow pitch but New Zealand paced their innings brilliantly.

The Kiwis started patiently and McCullum (43) was involved in two 40-plus partnerships with Fulton and Taylor (47) to ensure his team didn’t lose early wickets.

Taylor then added 72 with Elliot, but despite his dismissal, New Zealand were always in the hunt. Warner gave good support to Elliot, who made an unbeaten 61, and helped see his team through to a victory and a 2-0 lead.

Earlier, Australia made 225 runs for loss of five wickets.

Michael Clarke was declared the Man of the Match for his 98.


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New CEO of Satyam is AS Murthy

this news update by www.breakingalert.com
New Delhi: Satyam Computer Services has appointed AS Murthy as the new CEO of the beleaguered IT company. Murthy is an old timer at satyam and is currently the Global Business Head of the company.

Along with this most awaited appointment, the Satyam Board has also announced two special advisors- Partho S Dutta and Homi Khusrokhan- who will work with Boston Consulting Group to smoothen out the day to day operations of the company.

Murthy will assume the responsibility with immediate effect, the company said in a statement after a two day meeting of its Board in Hyderabad.

Satyam has also received bank sanctions for 6 billion rupees towards working capital requirements. The statement also informed that January wages of employees had been paid while salary for two weeks of February had also been given from internal cash of the company.

The company said that funding and collections will help it tide over the financial crises even as it focuses on reporting the Q3 results.

Satyam is also undertaking cost rationalisation measures, the statement said.

Satyam came into the bad light after its founder-chairman Ramalinga Raju told his Board that he had cooked the company books for years, showing inflated profits.


this news published by www.breakingalert.blogspot.com

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Aishwarya back on screen after 18 months

this news update by www.breakingalert.blogspot.com
MUMBAI: Ash, who is currently in New York for the premiere of Pink Panther 2, will return to India after a fortnight to resume filming for Mani Ratnam's Raavan.

Ash had two releases in 2008: Jodhaa Akbar and Sarkar Raj. Both the films did well at the box office and Ash's performance was appreciated in both. Jodhaa Akbar released in February while Sarkar Raj released in June 2008.

Mani Ratnam's Raavan which is set to release at the end of 2009 is most likely to be Ash's next Hindi release after Sarkar Raj in June 2008. The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Vikram, Govinda and Manisha Koirala.

The film is a modern day re-telling of the Ramayana. Ash will play Sita, a contemporary accomplished Carnatic musician while Vikram is Rama and Abhishek is Raavan. Ash is also shooting for the Tamil version of the film, Ashokavanam, which will release at the same time as Raavan. Both the films have been shot in the interiors of South India.

After Raavan and Ashokavanam, Ash's next release is Shankar's sci-fi special-effects laden thriller Endhiran with Rajnikanth. The film has been shot in the exotic locales of Peru and Brazil in South America and Goa in India.

Ash will be seen in colourful costumes in this film. The plot of the film revolves around Ash and Rajnikanth who is a couple. The twist in the story is that Rajnikanth invents a robot called Endhiran who also falls in love with Ash. The film will release in April 2010.

By the time the films release, Ash's Indian fans would have waited for well over a year to see their favourite actress back on their Bollywood screen again.

this news www.thearynews.com

Sonia Gandhi Warns Pakistan of Befitting Reply

this news update by www.apakistannews.com
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday, vowed to fight terrorism and warned Pakistan in indirect words to stop spreading the menace or face a befitting reply.

Addressing a public rally in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Sonia said the “neighbouring country” was trying to harm India and destroy her communal amity.

“The neighbouring country has the malicious intention of dividing our country and destroying its fraternity. The people of India will respond to this,” she said without naming Paksitan.

“Indira Gandhi died fighting terrorism. United, we will give terrorism a strong reply,” she told a gathering, which included a large chunk of tribals. She further said terrorism is a huge challenge before the country and “we will defeat it”.

Hinting at the recent attacks on migrant workers in Maharashtra, she lauded the people of Dadra and Nagar Haveli for “loving and accepting outside workers” who came to work in the Union Territory.

Underlining the achievements of the UPA Government at the Centre under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she stressed that it was pro-people. “We have waived off agriculture loans worth Rs 71,000 crore, which benefited four crore farmers. We have given scholarships to tribal children, and also cleared forestland for cultivation. We have reduced the prices of petrol and diesel twice,” she said.

She went on to say that tribals and villagers stand to benefit from the civilian nuclear deal, which the UPA government signed with the US, through the prospect of uninterrupted power supply.

Shops, schools, markets and even factories remained closed in the city till the afternoon in connection with the rally. Silvassa is an industrially developed city with about 2.2 lakh voters. It has a large population of migrant labourers.


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Pakistan Marks Kashmir Solidarity Day Today

this news update by www.breakingalert.blogspot.com
Kashmir Solidarity Day is being observed today (Thursday) across Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir with full zeal and fervour to express solidarity with the people of Indian-held Kashmir and pay tribute to the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs. The day is a regular annual event being marked to support the indigenous freedom struggle of the people of Occupied Kashmir and their right to plebiscite; and to condemn Indian aggression on the held valley, its illegal occupation, its tyrannical rule, and atrocities against innocent people.

A large number of people, organisations and parties are observing Kashmir Day, which is a gazetted holiday throughout Pakistan. One minute’s silence was observed at 10:00 am today in honour of the Kashmiri shuhada.

A human chain will be formed by the people of Pakistan and Kashmir at the Kohala Bridge, linking Pakistan with Azad Kashmir, as a gesture of oneness and commitment to their brethren in Occupied Kashmir.

Kashmir Solidarity Week will feature a presentation of a memorandum to UN representatives, TV talk shows and a Kashmir convention.

An essay competition will be held among the students of colleges and universities on February 6-7 on the following topic: Kashmir Issue – A Quest for Solutions. Entries for the competition have been requested to reach the Kashmir Committee by February 16.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir will observe Kashmir Solidarity Week by hosting events, starting from a seminar on “Kashmir Conflict and Need for Peace: Tackling the Root-cause”.

Rallies are also being held in all the major cities throughout the country to express solidarity with Kashmiri Muslims and their right of self determination.


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