US hopes Pak will bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice

United States on Friday expressed hope that Pakistan will bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice.

“We would hope that the Pakistani authorities will continue their investigation and bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice,” Assistant secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley said.

The visiting Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, during his four-day trip to Washington and New York, had expressed his concern to the top US leadership about Pakistan’s lackluster approach against terrorists responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Mr. Chidambaram, among others met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser General (Rtd) James Jones.

“Among the topics discussed were ongoing cooperation on terrorism, following up on the Mumbai attacks and deepening our cooperation between the two countries,” Crowley said when asked about the meeting between Clinton and Mr. Chidambaram.

Mr. Chidambaram left for India on Friday, following his four-day trip to the US during which he appraised the US leadership about the ground realities about terrorism in South Asia, had a first-hand experience of the steps being taken by the US with regard to counter-terrorism, and discussed various issues of mutual interest.

Keywords: Mumbai terror, Pakistan, India, perpetrators, United States, Chidambaram, Hillary Clinton,

source : The Hindu

Pak forces fire rockets at India, BSF retaliates

Pakistani forces on Friday night fired two rockets towards Indian territory which fell in agriculture fields in two adjacent villages, drawing retaliation from BSF using machine guns.

There was, however, no casualty on the Indian side in the Pakistani action, BSF Inspector General Himmat Singh said.

Mr. Singh said Pakistan fired rockets which landed in an open area at villages Modhey and Dhoneya Khurd at around 10 pm IST after which the BSF troops hit back by opening fire from machine guns.

He said BSF authorities got in touch with their Pakistani counterparts for a flag meeting where India would lodge a strong protest against the action.

The attack happened on a day when the BSF deployed its first batch of women constables at the border to facilitate frisking of women going for work in fields.

Sixteen of a batch of 178 women constables of the force were deployed at Rorawari village near Attari border in Punjab on Friday.

Keywords: Pakistan forces, rockets, Indian territory, BSF, retaliation, machine guns, Inspector General, Himmat Singh, villages, Modhey, Dhoneya Khurd

source :The Hindu

China opposes Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal

New Delhi, Sep 12: China has raised objection to Dalai Lama’s upcoming visit to Arunachal Pradesh citing that the proposed visit shows the Tibetan spiritual leader’s ’anti-China and separatist essence’.

"We firmly oppose Dalai visiting the so-called ’Arunachal Pradesh’," Jiang Yu, the spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry was quoted as saying in a news
agency report.

Dalai Lama was expected to visit the disputed Indian state in Nov 2009 to deliver speeches. Tibetan government-in-exile maintains that the spiritual leader’s visit has nothing to do with politics.

Obama speech to welcome U.S. kids back to school

U.S. President Barack Obama is set to welcome America's children back to school on Tuesday.

He and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will host a group discussion with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., before the president speaks to students nationwide through C-SPAN television.ploy

U.S. President Barack Obama attends a town hall meeting on health insurance reform at Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in August. He will address the nation's children at a school in Virginia on Tuesday, Sept. 8.(Jim Young/Reuters)

In the speech, the president will speak directly to the nation's children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school, the White House says.

An advance copy of the speech suggests he will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

But even a seemingly innocuous speech on education is not without controversy in the current political climate.

Obama opponents suggest the address to schoolchildren is part of his strategy to overhaul the health-care system in the United States. That divisive debate has dominated the nation's attention all summer.

Florida Republican chair Jim Greer said last week it's inappropriate to use taxpayer dollars to broadcast White House politics into the nation's school system.

"President Obama has turned to American's children to spread his liberal lies, indoctrinating American's youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves," Greer said.

Back in Washington later on Tuesday, Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden will attend a Supreme Court investiture ceremony for its newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor.

Later, the president meets with congressional leaders and welcomes professional golf champions to the White House.

source: cbcnews

Obama aides leave room for healthcare compromise

WASHINGTON - U.S. PresidentBarack Obama's top aides said on Sunday he still wants a government insurance option in healthcare legislation but they left room for a compromise that could disappoint his liberal backers.

Ahead of a major Obama healthcare speech on Wednesday night, the advisers sought to portray a sense of momentum behind an overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system after a tumultuous summer of debate during which Obama lost ground and Republicans rallied opposition.

Obama, speaking to a joint session of Congress, will lay out specifics of what he supports to try to regain control of the healthcare issue and gain passage of a plan this year.

Analysts say how he handles the debate this autumn is a major test of his leadership and could define his presidency.

With government spending and deficits soaring as the Obama administration fights the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and inherited wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, critics say the healthcare reforms are too costly.

A key question is whether Obama is ready to drop his support for the "public option" -- a government insurance plan designed to compete with private insurance companies that has been a major feature of a proposed $1 trillion overhaul.

Liberal Democrats such as House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi insist any plan has to include the public option, while moderate Democrats and almost all Republicans have vowed they will not support such a proposal.

Top Obama adviser David Axelrod and White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, in interviews on morning television shows, gave a preview of the speech and were pressed on the public option.

Axelrod told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Obama believes a government-run insurance plan is an important part of reform as a way to encourage competition and lower costs but that the public option "should not define the whole healthcare debate."

Gibbs, on ABC's "This Week," said Obama wants a public option included in the overhaul but declined to answer a question about whether that provision was essential for the president to support healthcare legislation.

The president will "draw some lines in the sand" in his speech, Gibbs said.

"Well, I doubt we're going to get into heavy veto threats on Wednesday," he said when asked if Obama would block a bill that lacks the public option. "We're going to talk about what we can do because we're so close to getting it done."

'TRIGGER' FOR PUBLIC OPTION

The insurance industry strongly opposes the public option and has spent millions of dollars lobbying against it, while conservative commentators have fanned fears of a government takeover of healthcare akin to socialism or communism.

Many analysts believe Obama will be forced to accept a scaled-down plan.Obama enjoys solid Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress and some of his liberal supporters would like him to ram through legislation with the public option included.

A group of moderate Democratic and Republican senators -- known as the "Gang of Six"-- have been engaged in closed-door negotiations searching for a way to avoid that divisive outcome and bridge the gap.

A top item under discussion is a proposal that would not initially include a public option but would "trigger" the creation of a government program if insurance companies failed to meet cost and quality benchmarks.

A key Democratic member of that group, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, may try to end the stalemate with a proposal based on various suggestions and possible provisions discussed in recent months, Democratic aides said on Saturday.

"I think he (Obama) has to say if there's going to be a public option, it has to be subject to a trigger," Senator Ben Nelson, a centrist Democrat, said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"In other words, if somehow the private market doesn't respond the way that it's supposed to, then it would trigger a public option or a government-run option, but only as a fail-safe backstop to the process."

Congress returns to session this week after a break in August marked by heated public meetings and heavy media coverage of the battle over healthcare.

A CBS News poll last week said most Americans found the healthcare proposals discussed in Congress confusing and thought Obama had not clearly explained his plans.

Source: reuters

Australian Deputy PM assures safety of Indian students

New Delhi: The Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today marked the first day of her visit to cement ties with India by meeting Mr. Kapil Sibal, Minister for Human Resource Development, in New Delhi.

Kapil Sibal stressed that India greatly values the education relationship with Australia and was looking to work with Australia as India met the challenge of meeting the urgent education needs of the Indian people from elementary school through to university.

In an important step to achieving greater collaboration and a new partnership, the Ministers agreed to an annual ministerial dialogue on education.

Significantly this meeting will also involve education (both university and technical education) and industry representatives from the two countries. Sibal and Gillard looked forward to working together through this new arrangement in the coming year.

The ministers discussed the challenges faced by some Indian students in Australia. The Deputy Prime Minister assured the HRD Minister that the Australian Government was acting firmly to ensure all International students had a safe and enjoyable time in Australia.

She said the Australian Government and the Australian people have zero tolerance for violence and that Australians welcome Indian students.

The ministers discussed the Australian Government's proposed amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act which governs international students, the legislation requiring the re-registration of vocational education and training providers, the upcoming International Student Round Table in Canberra, and the joint working party on student welfare established by the Council of Australian Governments.

Sibal said he was appreciative of the Australian Government's efforts to support Indian students studying in Australia and both ministers agreed to ensure that the number of Indian national students studying in Australia would continue to grow.

Both Minister Sibal and the Deputy Prime Minister noted the efforts of the joint working group between Australia and India on vocational education and training, student welfare and quality assurance and that the report of the joint working group would be concluded by the end of this year.

These joint efforts are a further part of the close collaboration and partnership between the two nations on education.

The Deputy Prime Minister invited Mr. Sibal to visit Australia at a mutually agreeable time. The Ministers also discussed the forthcoming visit by Australia's Prime Minister and a variety of bilateral matters.

Designer Anand Jon gets 59 yrs for rape

LOS ANGELES: An Indian-born fashion designer convicted of sexually abusing a string of teenage girls and women was Monday sentenced to a minimum

of 59 years in jail by a Los Angeles judge.

Anand Jon Alexander, 35, whose clothes had reportedly been worn by celebrities including Paris Hilton and Mary J. Blige, was found guilty of 16 sex crimes, including forcible rape and sexual battery, at a trial in November.

Alexander represented himself at Monday's sentencing hearing, where he broke down in tears as he requested a new trial. The judge rejected his request.

Prosecutors at Los Angeles Superior Court had accused him of preying on a string of girls and women aged between 14 and 21 over a six-year period from 2002 to 2007.

Nine women testified against Alexander during his trial. Most of the designer's victims were aspiring models lured into meetings with Alexander and forced into sex, prosecutors said.

Alexander is also the subject of an indictment made up of similar allegations in New York, as well as an ongoing probe in Dallas.

Brazil swine flu toll 577, highest in world

Brazil: (EFE) A total of 577 people have died from swine flu in Brazil, putting the South American nation at the top of the list of countries reporting fatalities from the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, the health ministry said. The mortality rate, however, is 0.29 percent in Brazil, well below the 1.08 percent rate in Argentina, the 0.75 percent rate in Chile and the 0.67 percent rate in Costa Rica, which have the highest levels in Latin America, health officials said Thursday. The toll from swine flu stood at 488 as of last Friday, the health ministry said, noting that the jump in the death toll was due to lab tests coming back positive for people who died between Aug 16 and Aug 22.Brazil now has the highest number of deaths from swine flu followed by the US with 522, Argentina with 439 and Mexico with 179, according to the World Health Organization. A total of 5,206 people have contracted swine flu and undergone treatment as of Wednesday, the health ministry said.The government has decided to appropriate 2.1 billion reais ($1.13 billion) for the purchase of vaccinations against swine flu, health officials said. The funds will allow health officials to purchase 73 million doses of the vaccine, which will be administered during the first half of 2010 to deal with an expected outbreak of the disease during the southern hemisphere winter

mj was a homicide involving a combination of drugs

Washington: More than two months after Michael Jackson died, the Los Angeles County Coroner has ruled that the death of "King of Pop" was a homicide involving a combination of drugs."The drugs Propofol and Lorazepam were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Mr Jackson’s death. Other drugs detected were: Midazolam, Diazepam, Lidocaine and Ephedrine,” the Coroner office said in a brief statement on Friday. Jackson died of "acute propofol intoxication," the Coroner office said. Other conditions contributing to his death was "benzodiazepine effect," the statement added.However, the Coroner’s office did not release the final report including the complete toxicology report, saying that it will remain on security hold at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney. "In accordance with this request, the Department of Coroner will not comment on its completed investigation," the statement said.Jackson’s personal physician criticised the Coroner’s office for releasing only the summer of the report. He alleged that this contains "nothing new" and has "all the earmarks of police gamesmanship. However the Jackson’s family commended the effort of the Los Angeles County Corner’s office. "The Jackson family again wishes to commend the actions of the Coroner, the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies, and looks forward to the day that justice can be served," it said in a statement.