VoteUpIndia » World News http://voteupindia.com Top News of India... Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:28:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Pakistan plane crash, Kashmir tense and more http://voteupindia.com/pakistan-plane-crash-kashmir-tense-and-more/ http://voteupindia.com/pakistan-plane-crash-kashmir-tense-and-more/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:44:46 +0000 Rishi Kumar Maurya http://voteupindia.com/?p=1029

ISLAMABAD – A passenger jet that officials suspect veered off course in monsoon rains and thick clouds crashed into hills overlooking Pakistan’s capital Wednesday, killing all 152 people on board and scattering body parts and twisted metal far and wide.

The Airblue jet’s crash was the deadliest ever in Pakistan, and just the latest tragedy to jolt a country that has suffered numerous deaths in recent years due to al-Qaida and Taliban attacks. At least two U.S. citizens were on the plane, which carried mostly Pakistanis.

The plane left the southern city of Karachi at 7:45 a.m. for a two-hour flight to Islamabad and was trying to land when it lost contact with the control tower, said Pervez George, a civil aviation official. Airblue is a private airline based in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.

The aircraft, an Airbus A321, crashed some 15 kilometers from the airport, scorching a wide stretch of the Margalla Hills, including a section behind Faisal Mosque, one of Islamabad’s most prominent landmarks. Twisted metal wreckage hung from trees and lay scattered across the ground. Smoke rose from the scene as helicopters hovered.

The exact cause of the crash was not immediately clear, and rescue workers were seeking the “black box” flight data recorder amid the wreckage. But Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said the government did not suspect terrorism.

Rescue workers and citizen volunteers were hampered by the rain, mud and rugged terrain. The crash was so severe it would have been nearly impossible for any of the 146 passengers and six crew members to survive, rescue officials said.

“There is nothing left, just piles and bundles of flesh. There are just some belongings, like two or three traveling bags, some checkbooks, and I saw a picture of a young boy. Otherwise everything is burned,” rescue worker Murtaza Khan said.

As the government declared Thursday would be a day of mourning and condolences poured in from the U.S., Britain and other nations, hundreds of people showed up at Islamabad’s largest hospital and the airport seeking information on loved ones.

They swarmed ambulances reaching the hospital, but their hopes fell as rescue workers unloaded bags filled with body parts. A large cluster of people also surrounded a passenger list posted near the Airblue counter at the airport.
[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Rishi Kumar Maurya.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/pakistan-plane-crash-kashmir-tense-and-more/feed/ 0 Kylie inspires Paris Hilton http://voteupindia.com/kylie-inspires-paris-hilton/ http://voteupindia.com/kylie-inspires-paris-hilton/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:44:19 +0000 Rishi Kumar Maurya http://voteupindia.com/?p=1034

Socialite Paris Hilton, who is set to revive her pop career with a new single, says she has been inspired a lot by pop diva Kylie Minogue.

Socialite Paris Hilton, who is set to revive her pop career with a new single, says she has been inspired a lot by pop diva Kylie Minogue.

“I’ve always loved Kylie Minogue. She’s one of my favourite artistes. I’ve been really inspired by her. I wanted my music to kind of emulate her. I love her sound and I love the way she is,” said Paris, whose brief pop career flopped a few years ago.

The 28-year-old is planning to launch her new album soon.

“I’ve finished recording my record. It’s like dance or club music. The album’s going to be out in a few months,” she added.

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Rishi Kumar Maurya.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/kylie-inspires-paris-hilton/feed/ 0 Dossa denies assaulting Salem http://voteupindia.com/dossa-denies-assaulting-salem/ http://voteupindia.com/dossa-denies-assaulting-salem/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:11:02 +0000 Rishi Kumar Maurya http://voteupindia.com/?p=1043

Gangster Mustafa Dossa, involved in a prison brawl with Abu Salem, said today that the latter had inflicted wounds on himself “so that he would be sent back to Portugal”, from where he had been extradited.

Salem had asked Dossa for Rs 30 crore to buy land in Lonavala, was turned down, and then inflicted the wounds to create the impression that he is not safe in India, Dossa’s lawyer Rizwan Merchant said in the 37th metropolitan magistrate’s court.

The Crime Branch had applied for the custody of Dossa and his aide Abdul Qayyum Sheikh for attempt to murder. “The charge was inflated, Salem suffered minor injuries and minor charges of simple hurt should have been applied, if at all,” Merchant said..

The Crime Branch wants to investigate where Dossa got the spoon with which he allegedly assaulted Salem, and what went wrong between Dossa and Salem, former friends and part of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

Gangster Mustafa Dossa was on Wednesday formally arrested for allegedly assaulting jail inmate Abu Salem inside the Arthur Road Central Prison here.

However, Dossa denied the charge. Both Dossa and Salem are accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. They were held in custody in the Arthur Road Prison, which witnessed a scuffle between them on Saturday last.

Following the incident, Salem has been shifted to the Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai and Dossa to the Thane Prison.

After a TADA court order, Dossa and his accomplice Abdul Qayyum Sheikh were taken into custody on the charge of assaulting Salem. The two were produced before Metropolitan Magistrate P Bhambarde, who remanded them to police custody till August 7.

The police sought their custody by stating that they want to find out whether the attack on Salem was carried out at the behest of any other person and the sequence of events leading to the attack. They also want to record the statements of eyewitnesses in the jail. The incident assumes significance as Dossa is suspected to be close to fugitive ganglord Dawood Ibrahim. And the assault is seen as an attempt by Dawood to eliminate Abu Salem, who had fallen out of the ganglord last decade.

Dossa claimed before the magistrate that he had not attacked Salem and the injuries sustained by the latter were self inflicted. Dossa then alleged that Salem has plans to purchase a property at Lonawala and he was in need of money which led him to extort Rs 30 crore from the accused.

Since he refused to give money, Salem, with the help of his aides Manish Thakur and Usman Mehndi, caused injuries to himself and framed him, Dossa alleged. The 42-year-old Salem was allegedly assaulted inside the Arthur Road Jail by Dossa and Qayyum with a sharp spoon on Saturday outside their barrack after a heated argument.

Dossa’s lawyer Rizwan Merchant argued that framing him in the crime was a ploy by Salem, who wanted to return to Portugal from where he was extradited to India. “Any security lapse would allow him to make an application in a court in Portugal seeking return to that country on the ground that he is not safe in India,” Rizwan said.

Moreover, when the police reached the spot they found that Salem was thrashing Dossa, who is a cardiac patient, Rizwan said. The injuries sustained by Salem were very minor, he said and wondered why Dossa was slapped with attempt to murder charge.

Meanwhile, Salem, who was taken to Bhopal in connection with an alleged fake passport case on Monday, returned to the city on Wednesday. He is now lodged in the Taloja Jail.
[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Rishi Kumar Maurya.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/dossa-denies-assaulting-salem/feed/ 0 Population by 2050: World http://voteupindia.com/population-by-2050-world/ http://voteupindia.com/population-by-2050-world/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:04:17 +0000 Rishi Kumar Maurya http://voteupindia.com/?p=1050

Washington: The world’s population is expected to reach 8-billion mark by 2025 and would further increase up to 9.4 billion in 40 years from now but India will creep up to 1.7 billion by 2050, US experts have said.

The current population of the world is 6.8 billion, while India has a staggering graph of 1.2 billion, a place behind China with 1.3 billion.

Africa’s population will be growing most quickly. The humans in the continent by 2050 will double to reach 2.1 billion, US Population Reference Bureau said.

Asia’s population makes 4.2 billion now, and may add 1.3 billion by 2050. However, the growth will depend mainly on demographic situations in India and China.

Europe will be “most likely the first region ever where the population will decline long-term due to low birth level, first of all in Eastern Europe and Russia,” the research said.

Presently, there are 738 million Europeans and by 2050 there may remain only 702 million.

Russia’s population is expected to go down to 117 million by 2050 from the current level of 142 million.

As for the USA, the present population makes 310 million. By 2050, it is likely to grow up to 399 million, or even 458 million, depending upon immigrations.

The experts believe that by 2050 the US will be the only ‘first world’ country among the world’s top 10 leaders in population.

Present-day leaders are: China, India, the USA, Indonesia (235 million), Brazil (193 million), Pakistan (185 million), Bangladesh (164 million), Nigeria (158 million), Russia and Japan (127 million).

American experts forecast that by 2050 the same countries will keep first eight positions, though the order may change, while the last two positions will be taken by Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Rishi Kumar Maurya.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/population-by-2050-world/feed/ 0 Asian Games http://voteupindia.com/asian-games/ http://voteupindia.com/asian-games/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:23:16 +0000 Rishi Kumar Maurya http://voteupindia.com/?p=1031
KARACHI: In a bid to avoid a World Cup-like disaster, Pakistan’s hockey officials are looking to ensure that their players peak just at the right time to be able to take a successful shot at the Asian Games crown in Guangzhou, China, this November.

Pakistan flopped miserably at the World Cup in Delhi last March, finishing last in the 12-nation spectacle. It was the worst-ever performance from the most successful nation in World Cup history and later experts blamed that the national team players got burnt out during the lead up to the World Cup and were unable to give their best in the quadrennial tournament.

“We will ensure that Pakistan hockey doesn’t have to go through similar disappointment again,” Asif Bajwa, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary told ‘The News’. “Our coaches have worked out a plan that will ensure that our team will peak just at the right time to give its best in the Asian Games,” stressed Bajwa, a former Olympian.

Though Pakistan will feature in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October before the Asian Games, PHF chiefs are focusing on the Chinese assignment.

Bajwa said that Pakistan will shield their players from the risk of a burnout during the Commonwealth Games by easing their workload during the event.

“For us, Asian Games is now the most important event of the year,” said Bajwa. “We will compete in the Commonwealth Games but will ensure that our boys do not get exhausted there. They will be played in a way that their best comes at the Asian Games.”

Bajwa said that Pakistan’s new chief coach — Michel van den Heuvel — has chalked out a comprehensive strategy to get the best out of the team in Guangzhou.

“Our coach is fully aware that Asian Games is an event of immense importance for Pakistan and has planned the team’s strategy accordingly. We are sure that the team will exhibit marked improvement in China.”

Van den Heuvel, a former Dutch national coach, will supervise a series of training camps in Pakistan and aboard in a bid to raise a strong team for the Asian Games. Pakistan are hoping to end their title drought by regaining the Asian crown this year.

He has roped in a Dutch trainer to join him at the first phase of the training that will be held in Abbottabad from August 12-26. Pakistan will then travel to Van den Heuvel’s homeland to train there from September 1-20 ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

The national players will get a one-week break after the Delhi assignment before reassembling in Lahore to prepare for the Asian Games.

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Rishi Kumar Maurya.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/asian-games/feed/ 0 Al-Qaida-linked group claims TV bombing in Baghdad http://voteupindia.com/al-qaida-linked-group-claims-tv-bombing-in-baghdad-aol-india-news/ http://voteupindia.com/al-qaida-linked-group-claims-tv-bombing-in-baghdad-aol-india-news/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:09:28 +0000 virendra kumar yadav http://voteupindia.com/?p=1028
An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility Thursday for a bombing earlier this week targeting the Baghdad offices of a pan-Arab television station, describing the deadly attack that killed six people as a victory against a “corrupt channel.”

A statement posted on the website of the Islamic State of Iraq said the operation was carried out by a “hero of Islam” and was intended to hit the “mouthpieces of the wicked and evil.”

The Arabic-language news channel Al-Arabiya is one of the most popular in the Middle East but is perceived by insurgents as being pro-Western. A suicide bomber driving a minibus Monday drove through at least two checkpoints before pulling up to the front of the station’s Baghdad office and blowing himself and his vehicle up.

“We take responsibility for targeting this corrupt channel, and we will not hesitate to hit any media office and chase its staffers if they insist on being a tool of war against almighty God and his prophet,” the announcement said.

The massive blast blew out windows in the two-story Al-Arabiya building and left much of the interior in shambles, with doors hanging off their frames. None of the dead were employees of the network.

While violence has dissipated in Iraq, attacks like Monday’s still happen with disturbing regularity.

On Thursday, a suicide bomber drove a minibus into the main gate of an Iraqi army base near Saddam Hussein’s hometown, killing four soldiers and wounding 10, said police and hospital officials.

It was in the latest strike against the nation’s fragile security forces as the U.S. military draws down its troops.

The 7 a.m. attack took place in the town of Shurqat as soldiers were changing their shifts, according to one witness.

Two of the four slain soldiers died after being rushed to a hospital for treatment, said Dr. Samir Issa. Ten others were also taken to the hospital in Shurqat, 155 miles (250 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad and just north of Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit.

The area near Tikrit has long been a hotbed for insurgents who fought U.S. troops after Saddam was ousted in 2003.

Seven years later, insurgents are increasingly targeting Iraqi security forces, as all but 50,000 U.S. troops prepare to leave the country by the end of August. As part of a security agreement between the United States and Iraq, all American troops must leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

Also Thursday morning, a roadside bomb exploded in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, wounding five Iraqi soldiers, a policeman said.

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by virendra kumar yadav.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/al-qaida-linked-group-claims-tv-bombing-in-baghdad-aol-india-news/feed/ 0 Wikileaks tainted by fake ‘Afghan’ Intel stories fed by India « Rupee News http://voteupindia.com/wikileaks-tainted-by-fake-%e2%80%98afghan%e2%80%99-intel-stories-fed-by-india-%c2%ab-rupee-news/ http://voteupindia.com/wikileaks-tainted-by-fake-%e2%80%98afghan%e2%80%99-intel-stories-fed-by-india-%c2%ab-rupee-news/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:29:35 +0000 HarshitAgarwal http://voteupindia.com/?p=1007
The Wikileak reports do not present new information
The Wikileak reports have been called “a work of fiction” by General Hamid Gul
The Afghan National Directorate of Security is well known for its incompetence and lack of credibility
Till recently the Afghan National Directorate of Security was manned by Pakistanphobic agents tied to the Indian RAW
The Indophiles complied reams of false reports without a shred of evidence–all for a buck and a half
Many in Pakistan think of Wikileaks as an attempt to drive a wedge between Afghanistan and Pakistan
Truth is often the first casualty in any arena of conflict and this is where the crucial role of whistle-blowers comes in. The indignity and physical torture suffered by detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad or the violence inflicted on Iraqis in Basra by British troops would never have made headlines had it not been for conscientious individuals, westerners for the most part, whose moral compass had not been skewed by a seemingly never-ending war.
Now, after Iraq, it has emerged that Nato troops in Afghanistan wilfully under-reported civilian casualties in the battle in that country. The documents published the other day by the website Wikileaks show, in emphatic fashion, how Nato troops belonging to not just the US but also its European allies covered up their atrocities and failures in Afghanistan. A large number of civilians have been killed by mistake, we are now informed by sources that ought to have been official. At the same time, there seems to be an acknowledgment that the Taliban are not going to lay down arms any time soon. The skill and ferocity of the adversary was perhaps underestimated early on but certainly no longer. But the main point here is that major human rights violations appear to have been the norm since America invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to rout the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
There is nothing new in Wikileak’s allegations that Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus is lending logistic or moral support to Afghan insurgent groups like the Haqqani network. This has been said dozens of time before, without any concrete proof proffered by either Nato or Afghan officials. Here it must be noted that reports incriminating Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence are usually based on ‘information’ provided by Afghanistan’s leading spy agency, the National Directorate of Security. The NDS is dominated by personnel affiliated with the former Northern Alliance which, perhaps for good reason, holds a lingering grudge against Pakistan. In short, it is questionable if the views of the NDS should be accepted on face value. What we need are solid facts. And whistle-blowers are wholly welcome.
In any case, the Wikileaks documents have embarrassed Nato much more than Pakistan. It has highlighted not just the alliance’s desperation in Afghanistan but also the questionable means it is willing to adopt in a war that remains outside of a time frame. Several thousand more field reports are still being vetted by Wikileaks and they make even more startling disclosures. All such charges, termed by some as war crimes, must be thoroughly investigated. Nato and Isaf cannot be allowed carte blanche in their activities in Afghanistan.

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by HarshitAgarwal.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/wikileaks-tainted-by-fake-%e2%80%98afghan%e2%80%99-intel-stories-fed-by-india-%c2%ab-rupee-news/feed/ 0 ‘Pakistan’s inaction on 26/11, a time http://voteupindia.com/pakistans-inaction-on-2611-a-time/ http://voteupindia.com/pakistans-inaction-on-2611-a-time/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:42:54 +0000 virendra kumar yadav http://voteupindia.com/?p=972 Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Washington, July 28 (IANS) Pakistan’s inaction against Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT) even after David Headley’s revelations about Islamabad’s collusion in the Mumbai terror attacks is a ‘ticking time bomb’ for US-Pakistan partnership, a former CIA analyst has warned.
Indians ‘have suspected Pakistani collusion in the Mumbai attacks from the start but could not prove it before’ Pakistani-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley’s ‘extraordinary confessions’, Bruce Riedel, now a South Asia expert at the Brookings Institution, said in a commentary.

‘Headley’s revelations, if true, paint a picture of official Pakistani military cooperation in an act of mass causality terror that raises very worrisome and alarming questions about our most important partner and India’s nuclear-armed neighbour,’ he said.

‘The truth about Mumbai and the future of Lashkar-e-Taeba is the ticking time bomb that could wreck the nascent US-Pakistan partnership,’ said Riedel, who played a key role in President Barack Obama’s review of US Afghanistan policy last year.

‘Thanks to David Headley’s extraordinary confessions, we now know how thoroughly LeT planned its 2008 Mumbai attack and how closely linked it is to Al Qaeda – and perhaps to the Pakistani military,’ he said.

‘There is no excuse for not executing a more robust crack down on Lashkar-e-Taeba and its front organisations from the Pakistani government and for not conducting a thorough house cleaning within the Pakistani army,’ Riedel said.

During her recent visit to Kabul, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also mentioned that Headley’s comments have included ‘a revealing set of facts’ which the US has now shared with the Pakistanis, he noted.

‘Washington and New Delhi are both now waiting for Islamabad to respond,’ Riedel said.

‘The Indians who have resumed their official dialogue with Pakistan after suspending it in the wake of 26/11 seem uncertain about how to proceed next.’

According to Headley’s own confession, he was intimately involved in every aspect of the planning for the Mumbai attacks, and then went on to work with LeT and Al Qaeda on a plot to attack Denmark, Riedel noted.

Headley also reportedly told his Indian interrogators that Pakistani intelligence paid for the boat that took the 10 terrorists from Karachi to Indian waters and that Pakistani naval frogmen had provided intensive commando training for them.
[Story Source]

This post was submitted by virendra kumar yadav.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/pakistans-inaction-on-2611-a-time/feed/ 0 Chocolate flag to mark Independence Day in Peru http://voteupindia.com/chocolate-flag-to-mark-independence-day-in-peru/ http://voteupindia.com/chocolate-flag-to-mark-independence-day-in-peru/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:04:15 +0000 Rishi Kumar maurya http://voteupindia.com/?p=947 Lima: on Tuesday presented the biggest chocolate Peruvian flag ever made, on the eve of Fiestas Patrias, the national holiday that commemorates the country’s independence from Spain in 1821.

The chocolate flag weighed 50 kilos (110 pounds), was 2.5 metres (250 centimetres) long, and 1.50 metres (150 centimetres) wide.

It was displayed in the neighbourhood of Surco, in the Peruvian capital Lima.

Hundreds of people admired it, took pictures of it, and dreamed of taking a bite.

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Cacao and chocolate of Peruvian origin were the main ingredients used in the making of the flag.

According to the chefs who baked it, the idea behind it was to celebrate the upcoming Fiestas Patrias Day and also to show off the quality of the Peruvian products used in its making.

“Well, we are extremely proud of the Peruvian cacao, we are proud to display this flag on the month of our homeland (Independence Day),” said chief patissier Maria Ines Justiniano.

“A team of patissiers made this flag, what better present than a chocolate flag made of Peruvian cacao?” she added.

Peruvian cacao and Peruvian chocolate have been praised by international cuisine experts during other festivals and competitions.

Other items made of cacao, such as belts, buttons, earrings and bracelets, were also displayed by the Peruvian patissiers.

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Rishi Kumar maurya.

]]> http://voteupindia.com/chocolate-flag-to-mark-independence-day-in-peru/feed/ 0 In Conversation with the Dalai Lama http://voteupindia.com/in-conversation-with-the-dalai-lama/ http://voteupindia.com/in-conversation-with-the-dalai-lama/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:03:42 +0000 Rishi Kumar maurya http://voteupindia.com/?p=949 Dharamsala: He was recognised as the fourteenth when he was just two-years-old, and today he is 75. As millions of his followers across the globe commemorate his special day, the Dalai Lama says his successor need not be a reincarnation, but someone appointed by him during his life time.

Speaking to NDTV exclusively at his monastry in Dharamsala, the Tibetan leader said that a Dalai Lama chosen by China would have no moral legitimacy.

Here’s the full transcript of the interview:

NDTV: He is easily one of the world’s most respected and more importantly, the most loved political and spiritual leaders. He was only 2 years old when he was recognized as the future Dalai Lama, in fact, the 14th Dalai Lama, only 6-years-old when he began his monastry education. And today, as he turns 75, we are extremely privileged to be with him in Dharamsala at his monastry, a home away from home not just for his holiness but also for the Tibetan people in exile for decades now. We look back and ahead at his life and times. We also have with us today in our special audience not just his followers but also people who visit and come to Dharamsala, which has got an international name because of his holiness, and of course tourists and foreigners and followers come from all across the globe and like I said it’s clearly a privilege to be with you your holiness. You know, most of us mere mortals when we approach our birthday,sometimes we are happy, sometimes there is a sense of fear that life is slipping by, that we are getting old, but you seem to be perennially young. How do you manage to stay so young hearted?

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Rishi Kumar maurya.

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