Three Bihar cops still in Naxal custody

killed by the Naxals after the first deadline

It will soon be 24 hours since the second deadline set by the Naxals ended but there is no word from them on the fate of the three policemen who are still in their custody. Four policemen were taken hostage during an encounter with Naxals in Lakhisarai, 150 kilometres east of Patna on Sunday. One of the policemen, Hawaldar Lukas Tete, was killed by the Naxals after the first deadline ended and his body was found in on Friday morning in the jungles of Lakhisari district. In a note that they left on this body, the Naxals threatened to do away with the three remaining hostages if eight of their comrades are not released from jail. So, what will Bihar do to find a way out of this crisis? Will the Nitish Kumar government release the eight hardcore Maoists from jail at the risk of setting a bad precedent and possibly weaken the government's battle in the Red Corridor? His back to the wall, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called an all-party meeting today to seek a political consensus on the action to take to bring the three policemen home.

And clearly the killing of Hawaldar Lukas Tete has increased the pressure on Nitish Kumar to act fast. The families of the remaining three hostages are also mounting pressure on the Chief Minister to secure their release. Hawaldar Mohammad Ehsaan's wife has been camping outside the massive security cordon of Nitish Kumar's residence and she wants answers from him. "I want my husband to be back as early as possible in the condition that he left, If he does not come back then Nitish Kumar government will be responsible," said Hawaldaar Ehsaan's wife. Meanwhile, speaking to NDTV, Bihar's ruling Janata Dal (United) spokesperson reiterated Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's known stand on the Naxal issue adding that even within the Congress and the UPA at the Centre, there is no consensus on how to tackle it.

"We are ready for talks with anyone. We think that this problem cannot be solved by armed action alone. A socio-economic action is also needed. This is not just my personal opinion but as you have seen there is a divide between the Congress party as well," said Shivanand Tiwari, Janata Dal (United) spokesperson. At 10 am on Friday, Havaldar Lukas Tete was found dead in Bihar's Lakhisarai forest with a note from the Naxals who killed him pinned to his body. It warned that unless the government releases eight Naxal leaders from jail, three other policemen taken hostage will be murdered. "We are sad with this news about the killing of one of our men. A combing operation is on. We are making all efforts to rescue the other cops. We can't reveal the strategy at this point of time," said PK Thakur, the Additional Director General of the Bihar Police. Tete was kidnapped on Sunday with three of his colleagues during an encounter with Naxals in Lakhisarai, 150 kilometres east of Patna. Forty policemen found themselves battling more than 200 Naxals. Seven policemen were killed. Tete was taken away with Sub-Inspector Abhay Prasad Yadav, Havaldar Mohammad Ehsaan and Trainee Sub-Inspector Rupesh Kumar Sinha.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/three-bihar-cops-still-in-naxal-custody-49446?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/three-bihar-cops-still-in-naxal-custody-49446?cp

Fidel Castro addresses first rally in four years

Mr Castro warned of nuclear war arising

Fidel Castro has addressed a rally for the first time since handing the Cuban presidency to his brother Raul in 2006. In a speech at Havana University, Mr Castro warned of nuclear war arising from the dispute that has pitting the United States and Israel against Iran. Some 10,000 people gathered to listen to the 84-year-old, who wore his trademark olive-green uniform. His speech was the latest in a string of appearances since he re-emerged in July from seclusion after surgery. Last month, Mr Castro spoke briefly at a session of the National Assembly, urging the US to prevent a "nuclear holocaust". Speaking from the same steps where 60 years ago he urged fellow students to rise up against the Batista regime, Mr Castro attacked the US for creating a "system that threatens the survival of humanity".

"The problem of people today, the more than seven billion human beings, is to prevent such a tragedy from happening," he said. "In this, as in many struggles in the past, it is possible to be victorious." The crowd shouted "Fidel, Fidel, Fidel" and applauded at several points during the nationally televised address. "This is a historic act," student Jose Gonzalez Abreu told the Reuters news agency afterwards. "Maybe he's preparing to return to the kind of big, historic speeches he gave before he fell ill." Mr Castro said he "never thought" that he would be able to address another rally because of his health problems. Despite his apparent recovery, the event was held early in the morning "before the sun is too hot", he said. The return of the leader of the revolution, who remains first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, has ignited widespread speculation that he is seeking to be more active again in the day-to-day running of the country. But he has stayed out of domestic politics, making no comments at all about his younger brother's economic changes or the release of political prisoners.

53 killed, 197 wounded in Pakistan suicide bombing: Police

53 killed, 197 wounded in Pakistan suicide bombing

At least 53 people were killed and 197 have been wounded on Friday in a suicide bombing targeting a Shiite Muslim rally in the southwest Pakistan city of Quetta, police said. "According to the reports collected from hospitals, 53 people have been killed and 197 have been injured," Sardar Khan, chief of Quetta's police control room said over telephone. The blast occurred around 3 pm when an estimated 2000 people gathered in Quetta's Meezan Chowk to mark solidarity with the Palestinian people on Al-Quds Day. The rally was organized by the Shia Imamia Students Organization. Every year, on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, rallies take place across Pakistan, to support the Palestinian demand for a homeland. After the blast, the mourners turned violent and armed people resorted to aerial firing which continued for some two hours.

Television footage showed smoke billowing into the air on a chaotic street with people fleeing and others lying prone next to motorcycles, taking cover from gunfire. The injured were rushed to civil and police hospitals, Quetta. The attack came two days after triple suicide bombings, targeting a Shia procession, killed 39 people and wounded more than 200 others in Lahore. The Shia community was observing the death anniversary of Hazrat Ali, Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law. According to media reports, Punjab-based terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi which claimed responsibility of the Lahore attack also accepted that they carried out the Quetta blast.

A day earlier, Interior Minister Rehman Malik warned of possible suicide attacks on religio us gatherings and called Shia Muslims to hold their religious ceremonies indoors. The police chief of Baluchistan, Malik Iqbal told media that they warned organizers of the ceremony to stick inside a cordoned off area after intelligence officials received reports about a possible terror attack. "It was a suicide attack," Iqbal said. Shia leader Allama Abbas Kumaili appealed the people to stay calm, "We understand that these are attempts to bring Sunni and Shia sects against each other," he told a Pakistani TV channel. Kumaili said the attacks against minority sects were a result of government failure. "Our government concentrates all its efforts to secure VIPs. Common men are not their priority," he said.

The Quetta blast was one of three attacks reported in Pakistan on the final Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan. Earlier on Friday, at least person one person was killed and four wounded when a suicide bomber could not reach his intended target and his strapped explosives went off just outside a mosque of the Ahmadi sect. "A suicide bomber was trying to enter the Ahmadis worship place, but he was intercepted by the guards outside and blew himself up," Mardan police chief said. Ahmadi community was constitutionally declared non-Muslims by Pakistan in 1973. In the northwest city of Peshawar, which has often been targeted by militants, one police official was killed and three injured when a bomb exploded near their patrol vehicle. The policemen were checking vehicles on Peshawar's ring road when the bomb was detonated by remote control, said senior police official Mohammad Karim Khan.

Major fire in temple in UK, devotees safe

Hare Krishna temple in the east Midlands town

The Hare Krishna temple in the east Midlands town of Leicester was partly gutted on Friday evening when suspected gas bottles used for cooking in the temple exploded. Temples authorities said all those present in the temple were safe, and had been accounted for. However, some individuals received minor injuries to their hands and faces from the shrapnel. Leicester, about 160 kilometers north of London, has a large population of Indian origin. Firefighters were searching the wreckage of the temple and the crew was using specialist equipment to enter the damaged building. Eyewitnesses said windows had been blown out in the blast. The police cordoned off the area mainly inhabited by the Asian community.

Leicester shire fire spokeswoman Amanda Pike said fire crews had managed to complete a thorough search of the outside of the building, looking for casualties using thermal imaging cameras. A technical rescue team was sent to search through the rubble and there are fears that the building has become unstable. Search and rescue dogs were also being used. Eyewitness Fatima Khatri told a TV channel: "We were all working and we suddenly heard a big bang and for one split second we thought it was a bomb, so we all ran to the window. Suddenly we heard the other bang and we saw all these flames coming out and we just could not believe it because the whole street was shaken up." "Everyone was really nervous because all we could see is the fire and people screaming and running around, all the children couldn't stop crying and it was a terrible devastating scene," she said.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/major-fire-in-temple-in-uk-devotees-safe-49420?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/major-fire-in-temple-in-uk-devotees-safe-49420?cp

Religious leaders hit back at Hawking

See Stephen Hawking next Friday in a one-on-one interview live

Religious leaders in Britain on Friday hit back at claims by leading physicist Stephen Hawking that God had no role in the creation of the universe. In his new book "The Grand Design," Britain's most famous scientist says that given the existence of gravity, "the universe can and will create itself from nothing," according to an excerpt published in The Times of London. "Spontaneous creation is the reason why there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," he wrote. "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper [fuse] and set the universe going." But the head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, told the Times that "physics on its own will not settle the question of why there is something rather than nothing." 

He added: "Belief in God is not about plugging a gap in explaining how one thing relates to another within the Universe. It is the belief that there is an intelligent, living agent on whose activity everything ultimately depends for its existence."Williams' comments were supported by leaders from across the religious spectrum in Britain. Writing in the Times, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said: "Science is about explanation. Religion is about interpretation ... The Bible simply isn't interested in how the Universe came into being." The Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, added: "I would totally endorse what the Chief Rabbi said so eloquently about the relationship between religion and science."Ibrahim Mogra, an imam and committee chairman at the Muslim Council of Britain, was also quoted by the Times as saying: "If we look at the Universe and all that has been created, it indicates that somebody has been here to bring it into existence. That somebody is the almighty conqueror."

Hawking was also accused of "missing the point" by colleagues at the University of Cambridge in England. "The 'god' that Stephen Hawking is trying to debunk is not the creator God of the Abrahamic faiths who really is the ultimate explanation for why there is something rather than nothing," said Denis Alexander, director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion."Hawking's god is a god-of-the-gaps used to plug present gaps in our scientific knowledge."Science provides us with a wonderful narrative as to how [existence] may happen, but theology addresses the meaning of the narrative," he added.Read why Hawking says God didn't create the universe Fraser Watts, an Anglican priest and Cambridge expert in the history of science, said that it's not the existence of the universe that proves the existence of God.

"A creator God provides a reasonable and credible explanation of why there is a universe, and ... it is somewhat more likely that there is a God than that there is not. That view is not undermined by what Hawking has said." Hawking's book -- as the title suggests -- is an attempt to answer "the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything," he wrote, quoting Douglas Adams' cult science fiction romp, "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  His answer is "M-theory," which, he says, posits 11 space-time dimensions, "vibrating strings, ... point particles, two-dimensional membranes, three-dimensional blobs and other objects that are more difficult to picture and occupy even more dimensions of space." He doesn't explain much of that in the excerpt, which is the introduction to the book.But he says he understands the feeling of the great English scientist Isaac Newton that God did "create" and "conserve" order in the universe.

It was the discovery of other solar systems outside our own in 1992 that undercut a key idea of Newton's -- that our world was so uniquely designed to be comfortable for human life that some divine creator must have been responsible. But, Hawking argues, if there are untold numbers of planets in the galaxy, it's less remarkable that there's one with conditions for human life. And, indeed, he argues, any form of intelligent life that evolves anywhere will automatically find that it lives somewhere suitable for it.

Civilians among 62 killed in Pak air raid

Pakistan army jets and helicopters targeted

Pakistan army jets and helicopters targeted militant hideouts near the Afghan border, killing 62 people identified as insurgents or their family members, including children, security officials and a witness said. The strikes hit an area where army fire had killed 60 civilians earlier this year. Accounts of civilian casualties in army airstrikes make it harder for the military to win the support of local tribesman in the border region, something crucial to flushing out al-Qaida and Taliban militants who have found sanctuary there. The attacks happened on Tuesday and Wednesday in different parts of the region. The raids on Tuesday took place in several villages in Teerah Valley in the Khyber region and killed 45 people. One security official said some vehicles rigged with explosives had also been destroyed.

He described the dead as insurgents, but also said it was possible that people living with them could also have been killed. Separately, an intelligence officer said some women and children had been killed in the attacks. Jihad Gul, a resident who lives near one of the villages, said he had seen the bodies of at least 20 women and children. An air attack on Wednesday in the adjoining district of Orakzai killed 15 alleged militants and wounded 10 others, according to local government official Jamil Khan and a brief army statement. In April, the Teerah Valley was hit by army airstrikes that killed about 60 civilians. The army, which initially described the victims as insurgents, ended up paying compensation to their families and its chief issued a rare public apology. Pakistan's army has been fighting Islamist militants in different parts of the northwest for more than two years. 

2 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghan Attacks as Defense Secretary Gates Arrives for Karzai Talks

Two American troops died in fighting in Afghanistan

Two American troops died in fighting in Afghanistan on Thursday, while NATO and local officials said coalition and Afghan forces killed at least 37 insurgents in a series of ground and air engagements. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, meanwhile, arrived in Afghanistan's capital for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and top NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus. Gates flew Thursday morning to Kabul from Baghdad, where he participated in ceremonies marking the formal close of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. The Pentagon chief also plans to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan. NATO said one U.S. service member was killed in the country's east and the other in the south -- regions where fighting between the coalition and Taliban insurgents has been at its most intense. No other details were given in keeping with standard NATO procedure.

The deaths bring to three the number of U.S. service members killed in September and follows a spike in casualties during the last two weeks of August that saw the monthly total rise to 55. The August figure was still below the back-to-back monthly records of 66 in July and 60 in June, although total U.S. combat deaths in January-August of this year -- 316 -- exceeded the previous annual record of 304 for the whole of 2009.  NATO said coalition forces beat back an attack on a combat outpost in Paktika province's Barmal district along the mountainous border with Pakistan, killing at least 20 insurgents. Defenders first returned fire with mortars and small arms before calling in an air assault, the alliance said in a statement, adding that no NATO or Afghan government forces were killed. NATO also said it had killed or wounded as many as 12 insurgents, including two commanders, in an airstrike Thursday on a car traveling along back roads in northwestern Takhar province's Rustaq district.

However, the office of President Karzai, who has repeatedly warned that civilian casualties undermine anti-insurgency efforts, issued a statement condemning the attack, saying 10 campaign workers had instead been killed and two injured. The alliance said it was aware of Karzai's claim and was investigating the incident. Further east in Ghazni province's Andar district, five other insurgents were killed in an airstrike as they were placing a roadside bomb, NATO said. That followed an incident in nearby Khost province on Wednesday in which a suicide car bomber attempted to ram a coalition patrol, but managed only to set off his bomb's initiation device, killing himself but failing to detonate his explosives.

In volatile Helmand province to the south, coalition and Afghan forces killed 11 insurgents and captured four, including a regional Taliban shadow district governor, Mulla Sayed Gul, responsible for ordering attacks and dispensing funds, the provincial governor said. NATO said it used another airstrike in Paktika to kill the leader of an insurgent cell responsible for laying roadside bombs and smuggling foreign fighters into the country. Ground forces dispatched to the site found weapons and bomb-making materials, it said. One other insurgent was killed and one detained after the ground force later moved in on a compound frequented by the Taliban commander, it said.

The commander was not identified by name and it wasn't clear how many fighters he controlled. Paktika is one of several eastern provinces where the Taliban and their allies maintain cross-border routes to smuggle in weapons and militants, many of them linked to al-Qaida and recruited from their homelands in the Persian Gulf, North Africa and further afield. Estimates of the number of foreign fighters in Afghanistan vary, with the vast majority of insurgents still drawn from Afghanistan's multitude of tribes, especially in the Pashtun-dominated south.U.S. special operations forces have increasingly targeted Taliban field commanders as a means of attacking morale and discouraging other insurgents from taking on leadership positions, a strategy NATO hopes will turn the tide of the nearly nine-year war.

Also in Paktika, Afghan and coalition forces detained suspected insurgents linked to the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network in raids on compounds in Orgun district along the border with Pakistan on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, NATO said. The network is known for operating on both sides of the border and launched an assault on two U.S. bases last month that was repulsed with the loss of more than 30 insurgent lives. Meanwhile, larger than usual crowds gathered to withdraw funds from Afghanistan's largest bank, but there was little sign that questions surrounding its viability had sparked a major panic. Nervous customers flocked to Kabul Bank branches on Wednesday to take out their money following the resignation of two top bank executives amid allegations they mismanaged funds and spent money on risky real estate ventures.

On Thursday, the crowd at Kabul Bank's main branch in the center of the capital was only somewhat larger than normal, following government efforts to reassure the public. Afghan television stations broadcast remarks Wednesday by central bank Gov. Abdul Qadir Fitrat insisting that Kabul Bank was solvent and had enough liquidity to meet demands. Problems at the bank could have wide-ranging political repercussions since it handles the pay for Afghan teachers, soldiers and police in the unstable, impoverished nation beset by the stubborn Taliban insurgency and widespread drug trafficking and plundering of aid money.

The bank's woes also tie into the web of corruption and personal connections that has soured many Afghans on their government. President Karzai's brother, Mahmood Karzai, is the bank's third-largest shareholder with 7 percent. The Finance Ministry on Thursday issued a statement assuring government employees that they would continue to be able to deposit and withdraw their salaries at Kabul Bank, and said the replacement of the top executives aimed to improve management and services and was "part of the life cycle of a business." "The Ministry of Finance has confidence in the Kabul Bank's ability to facilitate banking transactions, including salary disbursement," the ministry said.

iPad changing how college textbooks are used

Around piles of textbooks

It's back to class on campuses all over the country and this semester instead of lugging around piles of textbooks, some students are simply carrying one device. The iPad.  "One of my classes I haven't even bought a notebook. I use the notes on my iPad. It's been nice to just scroll through the pages as I hear what's going on in class," says Chloe Sparr, Seton Hill student. First year Med students at Stanford were just given iPads which they say are more versatile than laptops.

"You can write on it so that's a clear advantage because as you're going through lectures or anatomy classes, you're drawing diagrams and making connections you wouldn't really be able to do on a laptop," says Malcolm DeBaun, Stanford Med student. Some students are using an iPad app called inkling, converting textbooks to software. "We're really trying to rethink the structure of a textbook to build something that's more interactive and engaging, something completely different than if you just copied a textbook onto a computer screen," says Matt McInnis, Inkling Founder & CEO.

Using iPads could potentially save students a lot of money as most spend thousands of dollars on printed textbooks. Some iPad textbooks cost about half as much as hard copies. Inkling says most textbook publishers have embraced the new technology and so far both students and teachers give the iPad high marks. "There's just this additional visual and audio connectivity that I think they're really going to remember more. Time will tell but I think they will," says Catherine Giunta, Seton Hill Professor. Another lesson learned is a green one using iPads or other tablets could significantly reduce a school's paper use.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/ipad-changing-how-college-textbooks-are-used-49205?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/ipad-changing-how-college-textbooks-are-used-49205?cp

Baha'i woman recalls imprisonment in Iran

Minoo Vosough can still hear the guards' boots marching down the cold hallways of Iran's Gohardasht prison. The screams of other inmates burn her ears. She can feel the thud of a fist coming down on her head. And the world going black as she was blindfolded and shoved in a courtroom to hear her fate. She was arrested in Tehran more than 25 years ago - beaten, interrogated and thrown into solitary confinement. Once a week, she was taken out for a shower. She could tell if it was bright or overcast only by the small window high up in her cell. She cherished the chirping of birds outside. All she had was a blanket, a spoon and a broken fork. The Iranian regime accused Vosough of espionage, though she was never charged or afforded legal representation. Her crime in the Islamic republic, she says, was - and still is - her faith.

She is a Baha'i... She has not spoken publicly about her terrifying experience in an Iranian jail. Until now. This month, the spotlight again fell on Iran's 300,000-strong Baha'i community as seven national leaders were sentenced to 20 years each in prison for espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic and the establishment of an illegal administration.

Seven Baha'i  leaders are  imprisoned in Iran's Gohardasht prison.

The Baha'i International Community says the charges are trumped up in an effort to stifle the religion, the largest minority faith in Iran. The sentences were condemned by human rights groups and by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who sternly reminded Iran that "freedom of religion is the birthright of people of all faiths and beliefs in all places." Iran denies mistreatment of Baha'is and says followers of  the faith are free to live in Iran. But it says  it considers activities against the Islamic state illegal and thus views the seven Baha'is accused of spying for  Israel as criminals. Vosough, a petite, soft-spoken realtor in Atlanta, Georgia, has been following the story of the Yaran, as the seven Baha'i leaders are known. One, Saeid Rezaie, is a classmate from her days at Pahlavi University, now called Shiraz University.

Vosough has tried to keep her own heartbreaking memories locked in the crevices of her mind. But seeing Rezaie's gentle face, reading about the plight of the Yaran, everything came rushing back. "I want the whole world to know what is happening in Iran," she said. "What was my crime? What is their crime? We simply believe in our faith. Why don't we have that right?"  Vosough was born in 1956 into an Iran ruled by the shah. Her religion was then just over a century old, founded by two prophets: the Bab (the gate) and Baha'ullah (the glory of God). Baha'is consider Baha'ullah the most recent in a line of God's messengers that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Mohammed. She learned from her parents and from her days at a Baha'i school about the key principle of her religion: oneness of humankind.Baha'is had never been accepted in Iran but their station in life plunged with the arrival of the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Vosough, right, had to rent a cap and gown after Iranian authorities denied her a college diploma and a place in commencement ceremonies.

A young college student then, Vosough was forced to rent a graduation cap and gown to celebrate with her Baha'i friends after she was denied an official diploma and consequently, she was unable to land a job. These days, Baha'is are barred from enrolling in universities. Or even having a gravestone. Vosough's father-in-law was buried with just a paper marker bearing his name and the number of the cemetery plot, she says, staring at an old color photograph of the grave. Four gladioli lie before the crude marker. Otherwise it's hard to tell that a father lies there.The Tehran government seemed to be looking away for a while, but repression for all religious minorities in Iran has worsened since the presidential elections of 2005 and in particular after the disputed polling last year, according to a 2010 report compiled by the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

"A consistent stream of virulent and inflammatory statements by political and religious leaders and an increase in harassment and imprisonment of, and physical attacks against, these groups has led to a renewal of the kind of oppression seen in the years immediately following the Iranian revolution," the report says. Baha'i blood is "mobah," which means members of the Baha'i faith can be killed with impunity, the report says. Iranian authorities view Baha'is as "heretics" who may face repression on the grounds of apostasy. Since 1979, the Iranian government has executed more than 200 Baha'is and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from government and university jobs, the commission's report says. Baha'is may not establish places of worship, schools, or any independent religious associations in Iran. In addition, Baha'is are barred from the military and denied government jobs.

"This is a community that has really felt the jackboot of the Iranian government," says Leonard Leo, chairman of the commission. Vosough says the Iranian government is determined to sow prejudice against the Baha'is. Even Muslims who associate with Baha'is are often harassed by authorities, she says. On public forms, people are asked to mark their religion: Muslim. Christian. Zoroastrian. Jewish. There is no box for the Baha'is. "So you are stamped an infidel," says Vosough. "You have no rights." 

Making a 13-day escape

She had been married two months in 1984 when she was arrested after a family gathering. The government suspected her of "illegal activity." Officials stopped her car and demanded documents she didn't have. There were no Miranda Rights. No lawyer. She was wrestled away to Tehran's notorious Evin prison, her family left to scour the route she took. She was only 27 - and frightened.

 
           Vosough at her engagement party in Tehran.

"I didn't know what was happening," she says. "In my heart, I knew I was there because I was a Baha'i." In jail, she reflected on her faith. That gave her strength. She recited prayers and tried to count days. That kept her lucid. She was taken to Gohardasht prison on the outskirts of Tehran and kept in a cell by herself. Later, when she was returned to Evin for her trial, she was placed in a room with 60 other women. A Baha'i woman was nursing her six-month-old baby. Vosough gave the woman her share of prison milk. The mother needed strength. "Why should a baby be in prison?" she asks. "For what crime? Was that baby also a spy for Israel?"

After three months, Vosough was released. But she could not escape prison. She could no longer walk the streets without fear. And when she became pregnant, a panic set in. "I wasn't going to let my child ever be in a prison like that," she says. Or t be unable to go to school, get a job. Or do anything freely. On a summer day in 1985, Vosough said goodbye to Iran. She took with her only a small bag with two changes of clothing for an escape that took 13 days. She and her husband traveled by the darkness of night, on horseback, on foot, over the mountains into neighboring Turkey. The next year, with the help of the United Nations refugee agency, Vosough began a new life in the United States. She has no Iranian passport, required of all returning Iranians. Nor does she own any documentation of the life she left behind.

In her native Iran, she is more of a nobody than before. At 53, Vosough does not know if she will ever again touch Iranian soil. Perhaps, she fears, she has already embraced her 86-year-old mother for the last time. But in America, she says, she can practice her faith freely. "You don't know freedom until it has been taken away from you," she says, sitting under a framed drawing of Baha'ullah¹s son Abdu¹l-Baha in her suburban home. "It was taken away from me."

Ensuring survival 

If Vosough could talk to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, she would tell him one thing: "This is not what Islam promotes." The seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned now were the pillars of their communities, Vosough says. They are even more important because the Baha'is do not follow clergy. Instead communities plan their own meetings and services. In Iran, the seven were working to ensure the survival of their way of life in a country that does not recognize them. "I think I survived everything pretty good," she says, a moment of acute sadness interrupting the smile that is often splashed across her face. But she worries that her 300,000 Baha'i brothers and sisters in Iran may not. She has felt emboldened to write to her congressmen, to push them to apply pressure on Iran.

Mexico clash 'leaves 27 drug cartel gunmen dead'

Drug Cartel Gunmen in a Clash

The Mexican army says it has killed 27 suspected drug cartel gunmen in a clash near the US border. The army said a patrol came under fire as it approached an apparent training camp that had been spotted during an aerial search. Two soldiers were wounded in the fighting in Tamaulipas state. Tamaulipas has been a major focus of violence between drug cartels competing for control of smuggling routes into the US.

The rival Zetas and Gulf cartels have been waging a bloody turf war there. More than 28,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon ordered the army and federal police to fight the cartels in 2006. The rising violence has led to growing criticism of Mr Calderon's drug policy, with opposition groups saying it has done nothing to stop the flow of drugs to the US. In his state of the union address on Thursday morning, the president admitted the violence was worsening but defended his approach, saying the cartels were being weakened. "The capture or killing of important criminal leaders has made the crime organizations more desperate," Mr Calderon said. "It is an ever more bloody war between organized crime groups fighting for territory, markets and routes." Mr Calderon insisted the fight had to go on. "If we want a safe Mexico for the Mexicans of the future, we must take on the cost of achieving it today," he said.

Chandrayaan-2 to get closer to moon

Indian Chandrayaan-2 is close to Moon

India's second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, a Rs 425 crore project, took a definite shape with Isro on Monday announcing details of payloads or scientific instruments to be flown on the orbiter and the rover. Chandrayaan-2 will be launched in 2013 from Sriharikota.  Hovering 100km above the moon, Chandrayaan-1 had confirmed water ice last year. Chandrayaan-2, equipped with an array of payloads, will probe closer and deeper for several things on the lunar surface, including water. A series of meetings of experts chaired by UR Rao, chairman of the advisory committee on space sciences, last week decided that the mission would carry five payloads on the orbiter that goes around the moon and two scientific payloads on the rover, which will travel on the moon's surface. Three of the payloads are new, while two others are improved versions of those flown on Chandrayaan-1 orbiter.

A geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) will blast off sometime in early 2013 from the Sriharikota spaceport carrying the orbiter, the lander and the rover to the moon, about 3.8 lakh km away. While Russia will provide the lander, Isro will make the orbiter and rover.  "Chandrayaan-1 made observations of the moon from a distance. Chandrayaan-2 will actually get there and probe further. The previous mission found evidence of water in the polar region of the moon. We haven't decided on which part of the moon the lander carrying the rover would land, but it will be to look for water, among other things," said Isro spokesperson S Satish.  Unlike the lunar probe of Chandrayaan-1 which plunged into the moon, the Russian-designed lander will make a soft touchdown and release the rover, which will travel a few metres to collect lunar rocks and other materials. The scientific payloads on the rover will analyse surface elements on the moon and send the data to the orbiter, which eventually sends them to the earth station.

But why a moon mission more than half a century after the Soviet Union landed Luna 2 on the lunar surface in 1959 and 41 years after the US put the first man on the moon in 1969? "The last moon mission was in the 1970s and we don't have access to much of that data. The dozens of moon missions by other countries could not find water on the moon, which Chandrayaan-1 did. So we can rightfully expect some new findings," said Satish. Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft weighs about 2,650kg, including the 1,400-kg orbiter and the 1,250kg lander. 

Remains Found of US Hiker Missing for 21 Years

frozen remains of William Holland

Two men hiking in the Canadian Rockies have found the frozen remains of William Holland, an American climber who vanished more than two decades ago. I've been speechless," said Holland's wife, Anne Holland Bateman, of Walla Walla, Wash. "It has been 21 years. I never thought we would know what happened." The hikers discovered Holland's remains on Aug. 15 in Jasper National Park in Alberta, officials said. The men were walking near the base of Dome Glacier when they noticed a yellow object that seemed out of place in the snow-covered landscape. Upon closer inspection they discovered, much to their shock, the object was a yellow jacket and it was still attached to Holland's perfectly preserved remains.

"He was fully intact," said Garth Lemke, a public safety specialist with Parks Canada. "He still had his pack on. His clothes were tattered but in reasonable condition." Lemke added: "We have had cases where pieces of climbing equipment that may or may not have been related to serious accidents have melted out of glaciers and they amount to be clues in other potential missing-person cases. But this is definitely the first time we have had a full intact person discovered in a place like that." Holland, a 39-year-old geologist from Gorham, Maine, climbed the summit of the Snow Dome Mountain in April 1989. While Holland was at the top of Snow Dome, the wind picked up and conditions worsened. While battling blowing snow and whiteout conditions, Holland glanced over the edge of a cliff face, in an effort to locate a route of descent.

"As he approached the edge, the drift broke free and he fell about 1,500 feet," Lemke said.  Holland's climbing partner, Chris Dube, watched helplessly as his friend vanished over the edge. Rather than climb back down alone, Dube waited for another group of climbers to reach the summit. When the climbers arrived on the scene a few hours later, the group made their way back down together, but not without a struggle.  Conditions had continued to deteriorate and as they made their way down one of the men fell into a crevice and dislocated his shoulder. After rescuing the man, the group arrived back at camp well after nightfall. It was only then that they could alert the authorities to Holland's accident.

A search and rescue mission was launched, but rescuers were unable to locate any sign of Holland. At dusk the next day, they were going to deploy more search teams, but when they returned to the site they found a snow and ice avalanche had covered the whole area. "The rescue leadership at that time said it was unreasonable to put searchers in, so they suspended the search," Lemke said. Holland's body remained on the glacier and, over the past two decades, moved with it more than a half-mile from the site of his fall. Lemke says he believes a contributing factor to the discovery of Holland's remains is the amount of snow and ice that has melted since he disappeared, something Lemke says has been occurring faster in the past few years. As a result, it is possible that similar finds could be made.

"I [have been] here the last 16 years and we have one other [missing person] in that general area," Lemke said. "Some files dating back to the 1970s point to one or two other [cases], but we have not really confirmed that far back." Now, 21 years later, Holland's body has been recovered and positively identified using dental records. "So many things about him were pretty incredible," Bateman said. "One of his passions was music -- he played the guitar -- and his other was mountain climbing." Bateman said her late husband was an avid climber who had ascended Mount McKinley in Alaska, the highest and deadliest mountain peak in North America, which has claimed the lives of nearly 100 mountaineers.

The couple's daughter, Laurel Holland, said that at the time of his death, her dad was planning to climb Ama Dablam in Nepal. According to SummitPost.org, the mountain is considered one of the "most impressive" in the world.  Bateman says she and Laurel will take possession of Holland's remains within the next few weeks. They plan to have the body cremated and will most likely spread the ashes in Canada.  "His favorite place was Paradise Valley, near Lake Louise," Bateman said. "We had a service for him there the summer after he died." Bateman said she is trying to locate Dube, her late husband's climbing partner, so she can give him the news of the discovery. "We're trying to get ahold of him," she said. "Last we knew he lived in Massachusetts." Meanwhile, the discovery has allowed Bateman and her daughter to close a very painful chapter in their lives. "On the day of the accident, Bill had skied [to the base of the glacier]," Bateman said. "The odd thing is that his skis were never found. We always wondered if he was out there someplace. It was such a remote possibility, but Laurel was only 5 or 6 when he died and it was something she hung onto. Well, now we know for sure."

Multiple blasts in Lahore, firing in Karachi; 35 killed

Bomb Blast were Killed atleast 35 people

At least 35 people were killed and over 180 injured on Wednesday when three suicide bombers blew themselves up in back-to-back attacks targetting Shia march in Lahore, even as gunmen opened fire at a procession in Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi wounding seven. The first blast, caused by a low intensity explosive device, went off near the Karbala Gamay Shah Imambargah or prayer ground after 6.45 pm where thousands of Shia Muslims had gathered to observe the Yaum-e-Ali. The other suicide bombers struck the nearby Bhatti Chowk area at about 7.15 pm. Both sites are located close to the Data Darbar shrine that was recently targeted by suicide attackers. Geo News channel reported that the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Almi had claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Lahore's District Coordination Officer Sajjad Ahmad Sajjad Bhutta confirmed that 35 people were killed in the blasts, Dunya News reported. A head of one of the suicide bombers has been recovered, police officials said. Officials at the Mayo, Services and Gangaram hospitals told media they had received 17 bodies, including one minor girl and a policeman. Over 180 injured people were taken to the three hospitals. The Mayo Hospital alone received over 100 injured people. At least 35 of the injured, including six policemen, were in a critical condition, officials of the state-run Rescue 1122 service said. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise further.

Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said suicide bombers were responsible for two of the blasts. Witnesses too said they had seen the bodies of the suicide attackers. The blasts triggered a stampede among members of the Shia procession that injured several persons. Angry members of the procession attacked policemen and the Lower Mall police station, saying law enforcement agencies had failed to provide adequate protection to the gathering. A mob surrounded the Lower Mall police station and pelted stones at it. The crowd also set part of the police station and several vehicles and motorcycles on fire. Police fired teargas but were unable to disperse the mob.

Sanaullah said the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers had been called in to control the situation. He said the government would rope in clerics of all religious sects to tackle the fallout of the blasts. The procession was making its way from the old quarters of Lahore to Karbala Gamay Shah to mark Imam Ali's death anniversary, one of Shia Islam's most respected holy men, when the blasts occurred. In Karachi, at least seven people were injured when gunmen opened fire on a Shia procession taken out in a crowded market place. Police and the paramilitary rangers had surrounded the building from where some of the gunmen opened and a police official said three persons had been arrested.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/multiple-blasts-in-lahore-firing-in-karachi-35-killed-48847?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/multiple-blasts-in-lahore-firing-in-karachi-35-killed-48847?cp

Analysts: U.S. will be a factor for years as Iraq remains turbulent

Iraq are probably far from over

The simmering warfare and political instability in Iraq are probably far from over, and U.S. military involvement there could very well last years beyond the end of 2011 -- when all U.S. troops are scheduled to depart the war-torn nation, analysts who study Iraq say. Think-tank analysts who've written about what's next in Iraq after the U.S. combat mission formally ends Tuesday say economic and infrastructure conditions need to be improved. And, they envision a persistent American presence in an Iraq that remains unstable -- despite many improvements in the country's security forces and political culture. While U.S. and Iraqi officials point out that violence there has dropped, the attacks, like the wave of coordinated strikes across Iraq last week, will continue, they say.

"The Iraq War is not over and it is not 'won,' " wrote Anthony Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Iraq still faces a serious insurgency, and deep ethnic and sectarian tensions." Analysts say a unified government is key to stability in Iraq and the failure of lawmakers to form a new government after the March 7 national elections could exacerbate violence. Manal Omar, director of Iraq programs of the U.S. Institute of Peace, said the "primary fear" people have with the U.S. combat mission ending is that "political parties will resort to violence to force alliances in power sharing" and "the Iraqi citizens will pay the price."

 

U.S. and Iraqi officials point out that troops could remain past the end of 2011 if the Iraqi government requests a new deployment and both countries agree. Michael O'Hanlon, a Brookings Institution senior fellow who spearheads the organization's Iraq Index, says a full removal of Americans troops by the end of next year would be a tall order. He said "too many sectarian wounds" are "unhealed" and there are "unresolved" disputes -- like the territorial fight between Arabs, Kurds, and Turkomens around Kirkuk. "Pulling all of our remaining troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011, as presently required under a U.S.-Iraqi understanding negotiated by President (George W.) Bush and Prime Minister (Nuri al-) Maliki in late 2008, seems too risky," O'Hanlon wrote in an article in The National Interest.

 "Our calming presence is useful, as Iraqis themselves agreed in a recent poll by a considerable margin, and there is no military or strategic need to rush for the exits." O'Hanlon also said that any "renegotiation" of the December 31, 2011 date " requires a new Iraqi government -- and there is no sign of one emerging." Noah Feldman, an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, wrote a column for the Wall Journal that said "Iraq faces a raft of difficulties if it is to become an effective, self-governing nation, and all of them point to the need for a continuing U.S. role in security and beyond." He noted that the U.S. troop surge blocked setbacks, such as civil war, and that only the United States "can offer a credible guarantee" that the government "is not about to collapse."

"This is the reason that many observers, including Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, expect Iraq's elected leaders to ask for troops past the planned pull-out target," Feldman wrote. He said Iraq's politicians have the most to lose from the pullout. "The cost to Iraqi politicians of asking the former occupier to stick around is likely to be offset by the tremendous gains in public confidence associated with a prolonged American commitment -- especially if they ask early in their own election cycle," Feldman said. Feldman said the situation in Iraq is similar to South Korea, where the United States left troops after the 1953 armistice for stability and security. There are nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea almost 60 years after the end of the Korean War, he said.

He said the United States was in South Korea when it "was governed by a succession of military dictators" and into the 1980s as South Korea "blossomed into a free and functioning democracy." "In the coming year, the Iraqi government (once it is formed) is likely to ask the U.S. to keep some significant number of troops in the country after the pullout date of summer 2011. If so, President Obama may well agree, because it is just about the only way to avoid a resurgence of civil war and continue Iraq's tenuous progress toward consolidating democracy," Feldman said. Iraq is known for its oil wealth and the U.S. Department of Energy projects oil production will expand into 2035. But Cordesman said that despite the oil industry, Iraq's "economy is one of the poorest in the world in terms of real per capita income."

"It is the second year of a budget crisis that has force it to devote most state funds to paying salaries and maintaining employment at the cost of both development and creating effective security forces," Cordesman said. The 30 years or so of conflict in Iraq has taken its toll, Cordesman said, and "it will be years before Iraq can overcome" their effect. "Moreover, the bulk of a massive international aid effort has either been wasted or consumed in dealing with the insurgency, and aid is phasing down to critically low levels at a time Iraq lacks both the funds and capability to replace aid or even take transfer of many aid projects."

Rachel Schneller, a U.S. Foreign Service officer who is now a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, in an essay for Chatham House, cautions any United States withdrawal from Iraq must be responsible and added that "getting the country electrified" would be a key stride. "Nothing would stabilize Iraq more than reliable electricity, which would allow business growth and employment of those who might otherwise join militias to support their families," she wrote. Cordesman said Iraq in the future can be an asset in the region. It can help limit Iran's influence, divide Iran and Syria, give Turkey a "key alternative to economic involvement with Iran, and "play a key role in securing the entire Gulf." "The fact remains, however, that Iraq is a truly vital national security interest of the United States, and of all its friends and allies," he said.

Sweden reopens Wikileaks founder rape investigation

Wiki Leaks Rape Investigation

A senior Swedish prosecutor has ordered the reopening of a rape investigation into Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Public Prosecutions Director Marianne Ny said there was "reason to believe a crime has been committed" and that the crime was classified as rape. Last week prosecutors cancelled an arrest warrant for Mr Assange on accusations of rape and molestation, saying he was no longer suspected. Mr Assange denies any wrongdoing saying the accusations are "without basis".  The decision to re-open the case follows an appeal by a Swedish woman who has accused Mr Assange of raping her.

In a statement about her decision to review the case, Ms Ny said of the rape allegation that "more investigations are necessary before a final decision can be made". She also said that an accusation of molestation - which is not a sex offence under Swedish law - against Mr Assange should be reclassified and investigated as a case of sexual coercion and sexual molestation. The statement said Ms Ny would lead the new inquiries.  It is the second time a Swedish prosecutor has been overruled by a prosecutor of higher rank in relation to the claims against Mr Assange. Last week the chief prosecutor for Stockholm quashed an arrest warrant which another prosecutor had pursued against Mr Assange, saying that there was no reason to suspect he had carried out the assault.

Mr Assange, a 39-year-old Australian, has suggested that the allegations are part of a smear campaign by opponents of his whistle-blowing website. When the rape allegations first emerged, he said their appearance at a time when Wikileaks had been criticised for leaking Afghan war documents was "deeply disturbing". In July, Wikileaks published more than 75,000 secret US military documents on the war in Afghanistan. US authorities attacked the leak, saying it could put the lives of coalition soldiers and Afghans, especially informers, at risk.