12 year old gang raped and now pregnant

Amid threats in Bawana near Delhi, this girl and her stunned family bravely tell us what happened.


A 12 year old gets raped in Bawana, a place on the outskirts of Delhi and her parents discover the only after she gets 4 months pregnant.

3 men gang rape minor girl for 5 months, 1 held


A 20-year-old man was arrested for sexually exploiting a 12-year-old Class 5 girl student at Bawana Industrial Area in outer Delhi, police said on Saturday. Two other persons also joined in exploiting her.

Five months ago, they gang raped her at a factory owned by one of the accused. They continued to force themselves on her.

“We have arrested one of the accused, Deepak Shah, who was labourer at the factory,” said a senior police officer. His friends, Vicky and Lucky, both in their thirties, are still at large. 

Lucky was the owner of the factory. The incident came to light on Saturday morning when the minor, a student of a government school at Shahabad Dairy and resident of Bawana Industrial Area, was not feeling well. Her parents took her to hospital, where during treatment doctors found that she was four-month pregnant.

Then the parents heard everything. They went to Shahabad Dairy police station, where the girl told police that she has been sexually exploited for the last five months. 

She said a few months ago, she used to go to her father’s tea stall at the industrial area to help him, as her mother was unwell. “During that time, she also used to visit some factories to deliver tea to workers,” said a police officer.

When she went to a factory at C-106 in Sector 5 to give tea, the plant owner, Lucky, along with Deepak Shah and Vicky gang raped her. They threatened her that they would kill her parents if she complained to anyone.

Traumatised, she did not tell anyone and she was exploited repeatedly.

“We have filed a case of rape against the three. Deepak Shah has been nabbed, and we will find the rest soon,” said the officer.

7:34 AM | Posted in , , , | Read More »

PM writes to Tamil Nadu CM on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue

December 1, 2011New Delhi


 The Prime Minister has written to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms J. Jayalalithaa replying to her letters on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue.The text of the Prime Minister's letter is as follows:"I have received your letter of 29th November, 2011 as well as your earlier letter on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue.I have made a note of the points raised by you and also heard the issues raised by a delegation of Ministers from the Government of Kerala. I have pointed out to them that the matter is currently before the Supreme Court Empowered Committee. I believe that nothing should be said or done to create undue alarm among the people. I am sure that, given goodwill on both sides, an amicable and mutually acceptable solution can be found through a process of dialogue and communication. I have accordingly advised the Ministry of Water Resources to arrange an early meeting between the officials of the two sides to sort out outstanding issues and allay genuine concerns.I look forward to you cooperation in this matter."

4:44 AM | Posted in , , , , | Read More »

PM grieved over loss of life in Kolkata hospital fire- sanctions relief

December 9, 2011
  
 The Prime Minister is grieved to learn about the loss of life in the fire accident at the AMRI hospital, Kolkata. The Prime Minister has sanctioned ex- gratia of rupees 2 lakh each to the kin of the persons diseased and rupees 50,000 each to those seriously injured in the accident, from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

4:42 AM | Posted in , , , , | Read More »

Attempts to divide Kerala and TN: CM

Pathanamthitta 12-12-2011: Kerala wishes an amicable solution to the Mullaperiyar issue as early as possible M blamed attempts of vested interests to create a rift between Kerala and Tamil Nadu citing the Mullaperiyar issue. These kinds of attempts are unfortunate..
Kerala is united in giving water to Tamil Nadu. There are no different opinions on this. Kerala is showing utmost restraint in these provocative situations.

4:39 AM | Posted in , , , | Read More »

Land allotted for Garbage Treatment Plant at Aranmula

Pathanamthitta 12-12-2011: CM has instructed to allot revenue land for construction of a Garbage Treatment Plant at Aranmula so that the waste from the Aranmula temple and that of the Aranmula Vallasadya can be effectively treated. The decision was taken at the Mass Contact Programme here.
CM has also decided to give sanction for the Upper Kuttanad Drinking Water Project thereby bring in a permanent solution to the scarcity of drinking water faced by the people of Kadapram, Niranam, Nedumbram and Peringara panchayaths.
CM also distributed financial aid to 15 SC/ST families residing at Adichipuzha colony for constructing houses under the Indira Aawas Yojana.
CM also gave title deeds for 18 SC/ST families. Financial aid of Rs 24.85 lakhs were given to 497 youths under the project of Agricultural Department. Rs 41 lakhs have been sanctioned for the project implemented at the Thottapuzhasseri Panchayath based on the Vadakancherry model project. Pampa labour group secretary received the amount form CM. Rs 9.44 lakhs has also been sanctioned for the paddy farmers of Niranathidam who incurred loss.

4:34 AM | Posted in , , | Read More »

CM meets Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi, sought intervention

02-12-2011 :CM has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention for an early solution to the Mullaperiyar dam row. The Chief Minister, who met Prime Minister, described Tamil Nadu's stand of dismissing fears over the dam's safety as unfortunate.
Earlier, Chief Minister met  Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Yesterday, CM wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, asking her to reduce the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam, mainly for safety reasons - the structure is more than 100 years old and the region where it is located has seen several tremors lately, since July.

Tamil Nadu, however, has been demanding that the dam's water level be increased to meet its growing irrigation needs.

Ms Jayalalitha sent an acerbic reply in which she referred to "unwarranted provocations from across the border" and "the fear psychosis generated in Kerala."

In the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu argued that the Kerala government "is spreading panic among the public about the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam which is not true." Ms Jayalalithaa has asked the court to stop officials in Kerala from commenting on the possible construction of a new dam.

But CM today reiterated that building a new dam was one of the options which should be considered. "We are ready to give full assurance to Tamil Nadu on water" he said.

"There are two limitations for the Centre. The matter is with the Supreme Court and this is a dispute between two states," he said, adding that his government is ready for discussions on the issue .

The lengthy and bitter hostility between the two states has already seen the PM's intervention. In a letter written to Ms Jayalalithaa, Prime Minister said that "nothing should be said or done to create undue alarm" over the dam.

"I am sure that, given goodwill on both sides, an amicable and mutually acceptable solution can be found through a process of dialogue and communication. I have accordingly advised the Ministry of Water Resources to arrange an early meeting between the officials of the two sides to sort out outstanding issues and allay genuine concerns," he further added in the letter.

The Kerala Assembly has called a special session on December 9 to discuss the dispute.
CM writes to Prime MinisterDownload Letter

4:00 AM | Posted in , , | Read More »

Over 85 killed in Kolkata hospital fire, 6 directors arrested


More than 85 patients in Kolkata's well known AMRI hospital were killed along with three staffers when a blaze started in the basement of the annexe building early Friday and toxic fumes quickly spread to the other floors, trapping hundreds of people. Updates: 
Six AMRI directors arrested, hospital licence cancelled

Noted industrialists S.K. Todi and R.S. Goenka and four other directors of the city's AMRI hospital, where a fire broke out claiming 88 lives Friday, were arrested and booked for several non-bailable offences, police said. The hospital's licence was also cancelled, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced.

'Six directors of the AMRI hospital have been arrested today in connection with the fire tragedy. Those arrested include S.K. Todi, R.S. Goenka and Ravi Todi. They have been bookes for several non-bailable offences, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder,' Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Damayanti Sen.


President grieves over Kolkata hospital fire deaths

President Pratibha Patil expressed her grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the fire at AMRI Hospital in Kolkata Friday.
In her message to the governor of West Bengal, Patil said she is saddened to know about the massive fire at AMRI Hospital in which more than 80 people, mostly patients, were killed.
A blaze started in the basement of the annexe building early Friday and toxic fumes quickly spread to the other floors, trapping hundreds of people.
The president also conveyed her condolences to the families of the deceased and wished speedy recovery to the injured.
Relatives fight tears, anger at morgue

'I know this is not him,' murmured a young wife each time she removed the white satin covering the face of those killed in Kolkata's AMRI Hospital fire. The woman came out the SSKM hospital morgue with a wry smile, saying 'Maybe he is alive' but her hopes were soon dashed.

An ambulance carrying three more dead bodies halted near the morgue gate and one of the three was that of her husband. She stared blankly at the body before breaking down inconsolably.

The steady flow of bodies continued as ambulances carrying them entered the SSKM hospital one by one and after autopsy and identification, the bodies were handed over to their relatives. Read on

'Don't worry, nothing will happen, they said'

The families of patients and witnesses Friday recounted harrowing tales of a fire at AMRI Hospital that claimed over 90 lives, saying the authorities neither woke up to the danger on time nor allowed locals to help rescue trapped victims.

'We were sleeping. Then we heard someone screaming that there was a fire,' said a woman who was inside the hospital.

Some said the the hospital authorities kept giving false assurances.

'We were told 'don't worry, nothing will happen',' said a man quoting the hospital staff.

No radiation leak at fire-hit Kolkata hospital

Amid fears of radiation hazard from the equipment used in the cancer department at AMRI hospital after a major fire, a team of National Disaster Response Force Friday visited the oncology wing and said later there was no radiation leak.

Wearing gas masks and carrying sophisticated anti-radiation equipment, the NDRF team went to the hospital but said there was no leakage.

'There is no excess radiation and no leakage,' said the team commander Mukesh Kumar Verma.

PM mourns deaths in Kolkata fire, sanctions relief

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday expressed grief at the deaths of 73 people, mostly patients, in a fire in Kolkata's AMRI Hospital.

The prime minister also sanctioned ex-gratia grant of Rs.200,000 each to the families of those killed and Rs.50,000 to each of the injured.

'The prime minister expresses shock and anguish over the loss of lives in the hospital fire in Kolkata. He conveys his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy,' said a statement issued by his office.

Hospital staff abandon patients to fire

Medical staff at an Indian hospital abandoned their patients and fled for safety early Friday as fire and smoke poured through the building, leaving 65 people dead, many from smoke inhalation, government officials said.

As rescuers scrambled to evacuate survivors, police filed a case against the hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata for violating safety procedures and top government officials vowed to hold the hospital accountable for the tragedy.

"It's a very serious offense, and we will take the strongest action," Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the state of West Bengal, said at the scene.

More Kolkata like fires waiting to happen

The fire in the Kolkata hospital that killed at least 60 people was 'absolutely preventable', Neelam Krishnamurthy, who lost two children in the 1997 Delhi Uphaar cinema blaze, said , while blaming the 'lackadaisical' government and judiciary.

'This incident was absolutely preventable. It is very unfortunate that the government departments have once aging failed to function and the common man is suffering,' Krishnamurthy, convenor of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), said.

'The government and judiciary have a lackadaisical attitude regarding this issue. If something is not done, I am sorry to say but many more similar tragedies will take place,' she added.

Banerjee came to the narrow lane leading to the hospital - co-founded by private firms along with the West Bengal government - around 9.45 a.m., and immediately a stream of people as also mediapersons rushed towards her.Police personnel, at their wits end after having spent hours controlling the mob, which was venting its ire at the hospital authorities, tried to put up a cordon around the chief minister.

But as the surging crowd became uncontrollable, leading to a near stamplede, the lawkeepers wielding the baton, which worsened the situation. Read on

Hospital fire kills at least 73 Kolkata

A fire ripped through a seven-storey hospital in Kolkata before dawn on Friday, killing at least 73 people, most of them patients who were asleep when the blaze started.

Thick smoke engulfed the hospital and firefighters smashed windows to evacuate people down ladders to safety from upper floors. Other patients were rolled out on stretchers.

The tragedy unfolded over many hours as patients were suffocated to death, some trapped in their beds, others dying in their sleep, too infirm to escape the smoke. The lucky few were brought down the side of the four-storey glass facade building, only six years old, using ropes and ladders as thousands looked on in horror.

The fire brigade allegedly reached late and were initially ill-equipped - coming without masks with only rickety manual lifts - to deal with the disaster.

While hospital authorities said 70 patients and three staffers had been killed, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had confirmed 61 deaths earlier in the day

9:44 PM | Posted in , , , | Read More »

NASA finds planet that can sustain life

A spacecraft confirms the first alien world sitting in its star's "habitable zone"



NASA Telescope Confirms Alien Planet in Habitable Zone


MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has confirmed the discovery of its first alien world in its host star's habitable zone — that just-right range of distances that could allow liquid water to exist — and found more than 1,000 new explanet candidates, researchers announced today (Dec. 5).
The new finds bring the Kepler space telescope's total haul to 2,326 potential planets in its first 16 months of operation.These discoveries, if confirmed, would quadruple the current tally of worlds known to exist beyond our solar system, which recently topped 700.
The potentially habitable alien world, a first for Kepler, orbits a star very much like our own sun. The discovery brings scientists one step closer to finding a planet like our own — one which could conceivably harbor life, scientists said.
"We're getting closer and closer to discovering the so-called 'Goldilocks planet,'" Pete Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., said during a press conference today. [Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets]
The newfound planet in the habitable zone is called Kepler-22b. It is located about 600 light-years away, orbiting a sun-like star.
Kepler-22b's radius is 2.4 times that of Earth, and the two planets have roughly similar temperatures. If the greenhouse effect operates there similarly to how it does on Earth, the average surface temperature on Kepler-22b would be 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). 
Hunting down alien planets
The $600 million Kepler observatory launched in March 2009 to hunt for Earth-size alien planets in the habitable zone of their parent stars, where liquid water, and perhaps even life, might be able to exist.
Kepler detects alien planets using what's called the "transit method." It searches for tiny, telltale dips in a star's brightness caused when a planet transits — or crosses in front of — the star from Earth's perspective, blocking a fraction of the star's light.
The finds graduate from "candidates" to full-fledged planets after follow-up observations confirm that they're not false alarms. This process, which is usually done with large, ground-based telescopes, can take about a year.
The Kepler team released data from its first 13 months of operation back in February, announcing that the instrument had detected 1,235 planet candidates, including 54 in the habitable zone and 68 that are roughly Earth-size.
Of the total 2,326 candidate planets that Kepler has found to date, 207 are approximately Earth-size. More of them, 680, are a bit larger than our planet, falling into the "super-Earth" category. The total number of candidate planets in the habitable zones of their stars is now 48.
To date, just over two dozen of these potential exoplanets have been confirmed, but Kepler scientists have estimated that at least 80 percent of the instrument's discoveries should end up being the real deal.
More discoveries to come
The newfound 1,094 planet candidates are the fruit of Kepler's labors during its first 16 months of science work, from May 2009 to September 2010. And they won't be the last of the prolific instrument's discoveries.
"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.
Mission scientists still need to analyze data from the last two years and on into the future. Kepler will be making observations for a while yet to come; its nominal mission is set to end in November 2012, but the Kepler team is preparing a proposal to extend the instrument's operations for another year or more.
Kepler's finds should only get more exciting as time goes on, researchers say.
"We're pushing down to smaller planets and longer orbital periods," said Natalie Batalha, Kepler deputy science team lead at Ames.
To flag a potential planet, the instrument generally needs to witness three transits. Planets that make three transits in just a few months must be pretty close to their parent stars; as a result, many of the alien worlds Kepler spotted early on have been blisteringly hot places that aren't great candidates for harboring life as we know it.
Given more time, however, a wealth of more distantly orbiting — and perhaps more Earth-like — exoplanets should open up to Kepler. If intelligent aliens were studying our solar system with their own version of Kepler, after all, it would take them three years to detect our home planet.
"We are getting very close," Batalha said. "We are homing in on the truly Earth-size, habitable planets."

6:51 AM | Posted in , , | Read More »

NATO attack threatens war on terror: Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan, enraged by a NATO cross-border attack that killed 24 soldiers, could end support for the US-led war on militancy if its sovereignty is violated again, the Foreign Minister said, warning "enough is enough." 

The South Asian nation has already shown its anger over the weekend strike by pulling out of an international conference in Germany next week on Afghanistan, depriving the talks of a central player in efforts to bring peace to its neighbour.


 "Enough is enough. The government will not tolerate any incident of spilling even a single drop of any civilian or soldier's blood," The News newspaper on Thursday quoted Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar as telling a Senate committee on foreign affairs. 

"Pakistan's role in the war on terror must not be overlooked," Khar said, suggesting Pakistan could end its support for the US war on militancy. Despite opposition at home, Islamabad backed Washington after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. 

The US embassy released a video statement on YouTube by Ambassador Cameron Munter in which he expressed regret for the attack. 

"I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to the people and government of Pakistan, and especially to Pakistan's men and women in uniform, for the tragic incident that took place on Nov 26 in Mohmand Agency," he said, standing in front of US and Pakistani flags. 

"We regret it very much," he added in Urdu. 

He said the United States took the attack "very seriously" and pledged a "a full, in-depth investigation." 

"Pakistan and the US have stood together for over 60 years," he said. "We have weathered previous crises together. I'm certain we will weather this one too, and emerge, together, as stronger partners." 

But events seemed to be working against lowering tensions. Two Pakistani men were killed in Afghanistan early on Thursday and Pakistani border guards said NATO may have been responsible. 

The officials said the two men, who were from the town of Chagai in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, were gathering wood 30 km (18.6 miles) inside Afghanistan. They said NATO helicopters fired on their vehicle. 

"I can confirm that the bodies of two residents of Chagai have arrived from Afghanistan," said Chagai Assistant Commissioner Tufail Baloch. "But I do not have any information on how they were killed. It happened on Afghan soil so we don't have many details yet." 

NATO officials had no immediate comment. 

NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military border posts in northwest Pakistan on Saturday in the worst incident of its kind since 2001. 

The top US military officer denied allegations by a senior Pakistani army official that the NATO attack was a deliberate act of aggression. 

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news agency Reuters in an interview: "The one thing I will say publicly and categorically is that this was not a deliberate attack. 

The incident has given the Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history and sets security and foreign policy, some breathing room after facing strong criticism from both the Pakistani public and the United States after Osama bin Laden was killed in a secret raid by US special forces in May. 

The al Qaeda leader had apparently been living in a Pakistani garrison town for years. 

Pakistanis criticised the military for failing to protect their sovereignty and US officials wondered whether some members of military intelligence had sheltered him. Pakistan's government and military said they had no idea bin Laden was in the country. 

Protests have taken place in several cities every day since the NATO strike along the poorly-defined border, where militants often plan and stage attacks. 

Pakistan military sources said Islamabad had cancelled a visit by a 15-member delegation, led by the Director General of the Joint Staff, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Asif, to the United States that was to have taken place this week. 

In an apparently unrelated attack, a bomb blew out a wall of a government official's office in Peshawar, the last big city on the route to Afghanistan, early on Thursday, police said. There were no reports of casualties. 

Also in the eastern Afghan province of Logar, unknown gunmen abducted seven Pakistani engineers in Pul-e Alam, said provincial police chief Gulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai. 

The United States has long wanted Pakistan, whose military and economy depend heavily on billions of dollars in American aid, to crack down on militant groups that cross its unruly border to attack Western forces in Afghanistan. 

More recently, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Pakistan to bring all militant groups to the negotiating table in order to stabilize Afghanistan. 

The NATO attack makes Pakistani cooperation less likely. 

NATO hopes an investigation it promised will defuse the crisis and that confidence-building measures can repair ties. 

Critics say Pakistan has created a deadly regional mess by supporting militants like the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network to act as proxies in Afghanistan and other groups to fight Indian forces in the disputed Kashmir region. 

Pakistan says it has paid the highest price in the war on militancy. Thousands of soldiers and police have been killed. 

"The sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the war on terror are more than any other country," Khar was quoted as saying. "But that does not mean we will compromise on our sovereignty." 

7:02 AM | Posted in , , , , , , | Read More »

Gujarat HC orders CBI to probe Ishrat Jehan encounter case





Ahmedabad, Dec.1 (ANI): The Gujarat High Court announced on Thursday that it would be directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct the probe in the Ishrat Jehanencounter case, as it could not trust the state police to do a fair andcredible investigation.
Last month, the high court had ordered the registration of fresh cases against the accused policemen after rceiving a report on the incident from a Special Investigation Task (SIT) team.
In October this year, a team of forensic experts and investigation officials had reconstructed the shootout in Ahmedabad to look into key details of the killing.
Recreating the scene of the incident on a highway on the outskirts of the city, probe officials even placed a dilapidated vehicle marking the car in which Jahan and her associates were gunned down, in a bid to ascertain whether the shootout was indeed, genuine.
The Crime Branch of Gujarat Police is said to have been involved in the killing of Jehan, an alleged operative of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, in a fierce shootout in 2004 in Ahmedabad.
According to the police, Jehan and her accomplices were involved in a sinister plot to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
However, widely believed as fake, the shootout sparked a fierce public and political outcry and was unequivocally condemned by academics, civil society activists, journalists and political leaders, who demanded justice for Jehan.
Interestingly, a metropolitan court in Ahmedabad ruled in 2009 that Jehan"s shootout was "fake," pricking holes in the sequence of events provided by the police and renewing demands for a fresh probe into the incident.
Presently, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court is handling the case. Former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director R K Raghavan heads the team.
Ishrat Jehan was killed along with Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar in a shootout on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad while they were travelling in a private car. (ANI)

5:50 AM | Posted in , , | Read More »

Egyptians head to polls for 2nd day of historic elections


Cairo (CNN) -- Reveling in their opportunity to vote in a post-Mubarak era, Egyptians headed to the polls Tuesday for the second day of the country's parliamentary elections.
The voting this week marks the first time some Egyptians -- young and old -- have ever cast ballots. Citizens are picking members of the lower house of Parliament, which will be tasked with drafting a new constitution.
Egypt's stock exchange opened considerably higher Tuesday and saw an unprecedented wave of buying amid the elections.
The head of Egypt's election committee promised a smoother voting process Tuesday after logistical problems and illegal campaigning affected polling in some areas Monday. Voters decried the late opening of polling stations and a delay in the arrival of ballots.
State TV reported that 25 people were injured in election-related violence.
Election officials said they have received 964 complaints, 579 of which have been addressed, according to Egypt TV.

But many voters expressed jubilation at their chance to help build a new Egypt after a popular revolt toppled President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year regime in February."Before, there was always cheating. Now -- I could be wrong -- but I think my vote will count," Mohamed Rida'a Mohamed Abdulla said as he left a Cairo polling station.Some polling areas were segregated by gender. Lines at both men's and women's stations snaked around buildings for hours."It's an awakening," one woman said, beaming, at a Cairo polling station. "I'm very happy, and I feel that even when I see old ladies hardly walking, it makes me feel that really Egypt is reviving."The stakes are high for Egyptian women who worry that if Islamists gain a majority in the lower house of Parliament, their hopes for a more liberal life will be quashed.In Alexandria, the Al Noor Salafi Muslim party and the Freedom and Justice Party accused one another of breaking an "honorable agreement" aimed at cooperation. The Freedom and Justice Party is part of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, one of the nation's largest organizations.Yousri Hamad, a spokesman for the Al Noor Salafi party, said the Muslim Brotherhood spread false rumors and launched a "smear campaign" against the party."We were not as prepared for the elections as we should have been and did not spend enough money on the campaigning," Hamad said.But Esam El Erian, spokesman for the Freedom and Justice Party, said the Salafis had breached the agreement by making such accusations without evidence.Ali Al Dali, an official monitor for the Egyptian Association of Human Rights, said eight cases of vote-buying had been documented in Alexandria, and police had been notified. About 45% of eligible voters in the city had cast ballots, he said.Elections for the lower house are scheduled to take place in three stages, based on geography. The last of the three stages is set to take place January.Upper house elections will run between January and March.Egyptians have dozens of political parties and thousands of independent candidates to choose from. The Muslim Brotherhood is expected to perform well in the election.Presidential elections will be held by June, according to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt's acting ruling body. Military leaders have said they will hand over power to a new government when one is elected, but many Egyptians say they don't trust the council and fear the military will cling to power.Over the past two weeks, at least 42 people have been killed in clashes as protesters called for an immediate end to military rule. An additional 3,250 have been wounded, according to the Health Ministry.Some Egyptians expressed skepticism or even boycotted the voting on Monday."There is no inclination that the judiciary is independent, so there is no way to prove the election will be free and fair," said Amr Hamzawy, a 32-year-old shopkeeper.Despite the masses who flocked to polling stations Monday, some remained cautious about how much Egypt could evolve after one election cycle."We're not changing in one month, or a year, or five years. It will take a long time to change from one system to the other," one woman said on the streets of Cairo. "We've been going with this system for the past 30 years, and it's not like a button we push to change everything."

6:02 AM | Posted in , , , , | Read More »

Mumbai fire guts three shopping plazas, no casualties

Mumbai: Fire Guts Three Shopping Plazas, No Casualties

Mumbai, Nov 26 (IANS): A major fire gutted three popular shopping complexes in south Mumbai early Saturday, the fire brigade said. There were no casualties.
According to a fire brigade official, the fire broke out around 3.30 a.m. in the Sara-Sahara Mall, barely a stone's throw away from Mumbai Police Commissionerate at Crawford Market.
The blaze quickly spread from Sara-Sahara Mall to the adjoining Manish Market and Mohta Market, both reputed for their array of electronic and electrical consumer goods, and situated in a thickly congested area.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The Sara-Sahara Mall has been in the news for its reported ownership by absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar told reporters that the fire would be brought "under control soon" and there are no immediate reports of any casualties.
At least 33 fire tenders and 20 water tankers were rushed to the scene and attempted to tackle the blaze in the heart of the commercial area of south Mumbai.
So far, over 350 shops in the three shopping plazas have been reduced to ashes, besides several small shops located nearby, resulting in losses estimated in several crores of rupees.


5:45 AM | Posted in , , | Read More »

Mumbai fire guts three shopping plazas, no casualties

Mumbai: Fire Guts Three Shopping Plazas, No Casualties

Mumbai, Nov 26 (IANS): A major fire gutted three popular shopping complexes in south Mumbai early Saturday, the fire brigade said. There were no casualties.
According to a fire brigade official, the fire broke out around 3.30 a.m. in the Sara-Sahara Mall, barely a stone's throw away from Mumbai Police Commissionerate at Crawford Market.
The blaze quickly spread from Sara-Sahara Mall to the adjoining Manish Market and Mohta Market, both reputed for their array of electronic and electrical consumer goods, and situated in a thickly congested area.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The Sara-Sahara Mall has been in the news for its reported ownership by absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar told reporters that the fire would be brought "under control soon" and there are no immediate reports of any casualties.
At least 33 fire tenders and 20 water tankers were rushed to the scene and attempted to tackle the blaze in the heart of the commercial area of south Mumbai.
So far, over 350 shops in the three shopping plazas have been reduced to ashes, besides several small shops located nearby, resulting in losses estimated in several crores of rupees.


5:45 AM | Posted in , , | Read More »

Mumbai can't call itself a safe city for women


BLASTS, riots and terror attacks have been unsuccessful in taking the sheen off Maximum City. But a demon lurking within may just be able to do that.

Mumbai was always touted as a "safe city" for women. But with growing cases of eve-teasing and assaults on people who protest this evil, it may soon lose this tag.

Following the murders of two young men for protesting a woman friend being harassed, the city's citizens have initiated several campaigns to make their intolerance for eve-teasing clear. But even as the police are forming squads to nab eve-teasers and opening up helpline numbers, as many as three cases of eve-teasing in the past one week have created a sense of insecurity among the women.

In a fresh incident, the police on Saturday arrested three men from suburban Juhu for allegedly misbehaving with a girl and attacking another who confronted them.

Lakhan Devendra, Tambi Devendra and Shiva Devendra began harassing a girl on Thursday night near an ice cream shop in Juhu. When eyewitness Ajay Hogade intervened, he was thrashed. His sister Rupali too protested the harassment of the other girl. These men then attacked her and bit off a portion of her thumb. The police finally arrested the trio following Rupali’s complaint.

In a similar case, an eve-teaser slashed off the finger of a man in Dombivli who objected to his wife being harassed. Bipin Dalani, 46, was allegedly attacked by Maruti Mane on Thursday after the former protested the harassment of his wife Kavita. Mane is absconding even as the police have registered a complaint against him.

Both these instances have brought back the bitter memory of the brutal murders of Reuben Fernandez and Keenan Santos on October 20. The boys were attacked by group of men in Andheri with choppers after they objected to the men harassing one of their women friends and Keenan’s girlfriend.

Keenan died on the spot, while Reuben succumbed to his injuries a few days later.

The rising incidents of eveteasing have left women feeling insecure. Samantha Pinto, an IT professional, said: "Though Mumbai is safer than many other cities, it can no longer be considered absolutely safe.

Hooligans in crowded trains and railway platforms think they can get away with anything. We need a better police mechanism.” The city youth have formed groups on social networking sites demanding stricter laws and modifications of sections in the Indian Penal Code dealing with harassment of women.

Individual police zones under the city commissionerate have also launched their own actions against miscreants.

DCP Vishwas Nagre Patil of the Western Zone set up a special squad last week to round up people who harass women.

Within four days of its formation, the squad had cornered over 60 people. Maharashtra's minister of state for home Satej Patil has had a text message sent to all mobile users detailing the police numbers and helplines that one can call in cases of eve- teasing. But women think this is not enough.

Ruchika Gupta, a corporate executive, said: “ Is it practical to dial a number when one is in the middle of a crisis? And, we all know how the police respond to such calls. We need better policing on the city’s roads.” But Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik said although the incidents were unfortunate, it did not represent the general state of the city. “ The discussion was triggered after the Amboli attack ( which killed Reuben and Keenan), but I do not think that Mumbai is unsafe for women. We are constantly available whenever there is an emergency and all police numbers are known to the people.” The commissioner said while it was impossible to constitute a special squad with about 30 per cent of the force to take care of the menace, DCPs in some zones had taken steps to curb this menace.

"But I want to assure the women citizens in the city that the police are always there to help and safeguard them in need,” he added.
Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2011. MTNPL. All rights reserved.


7:10 AM | Posted in , , | Read More »