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Archives for December 2014

Make Aamir Khan's 'PK' tax free, says Swami Agnivesh

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PK

New Delhi: Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh on Tuesday advocated tax exemption for Aamir Khan-starrer ‘PK’ in view of the movie’s “new message” that would encourage scientific temperament among students across India.

Agnivesh welcomed “the film which takes a swipe at superstitious beliefs and false idol worship practiced by some people in the name of religion, said a statement released by his organisation Bandhua Mukti Morcha.

As the film’s storyline questions exploitation of devotees and followers in the name of religion, Agnivesh urged people to “ignore the hue and cry made by some of the so-called religious leaders like Swami Ramdev and other religious outfits like Vishva Hindu Parishad or Jamaat-e-Islami Hind”.

“It is natural that such religious leaders and institutions are bound to get threatened for their survival as the movie hits out at the blind faith,” he said, in the statement.

He congratulated Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Leela Samson for rejecting a review of the screening certificate to the film despite pressure from religious fundamentalists.

Media reports on SIMI activist baseless, says cop

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PTI Photo

PTI Photo

Yadagiri: Police in Yadagiri have denied reports by some media groups that an alleged SIMI operative lived in the city or that NIA officers and Andhra Police had come looking for him.

“We have no information either about the reported existence of a SIMI operative in the district or the reported visit of NIA officers or Andhra Police to the district,” Superintendent of Police M Mutturaya clarified.

Earlier, a Kannada TV channel reported that Mohammad alias Guddu, a SIMI operative, had lived in Yadagiri for months and had purchased 20 mobile phone SIM cards. The report also said that the NIA officer visited some places, including a cloth store here.

The report came after a 17-year-old boy, said to be a Sangh Parivar activist, posting as a Muslim on Twitter claimed Bengaluru blast responsibility and threatened to carry out more such blasts.

22 animals that went extinct in 2014

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northern_white_rhino_san_diego

Living Alongside Wildlife has a list of 22 species of animal declared extinct in 2014, extending humanity’s long streak of causing plant and animal extinctions.

The last known Christmas Island Forest Skink (Emoia nativitatis) died alone in a zoo on May 31st, 2014. It is unknown why the species disappeared from its natural habitat of Christmas Island (an Australian territory) but invasive species may have played a key role.

The St. Helena Giant Earwig (Labidura herculeana) is extinct. This species is notable for being fairly large (over three inches) and was found on the island of St. Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Plectostoma sciaphilum was a snail that lived entirely on one Malaysian hill. A cement company wiped them all out.

Vaiko calls Salman Khan a betrayer for campaigning for Rajapaksa

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Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa with Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez. (AFP Photo)

Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa with Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez. (AFP Photo)

Chennai: Hitting out at Bollywood actor Salman Khan for allegedly campaigning for Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, MDMK chief Vaiko on Monday dubbed him as a ‘betrayer.’

“He is also a betrayer,” Vaiko told reporters here when asked about this.

Earlier, reports had suggested that the Indian superstar, along with actor Jacqueline Fernandez, had been roped in to campaign for the Lankan leader, who is testing his electoral fortunes for a third time in the coming Presidential elections, due next month in the island republic.

Rajapaksa is under fire from political parties in Tamil Nadu, especially MDMK, as he was at the helm of affairs in 2009 when civilian casualties in the Tamil-dominated areas in Sri Lanka’s northeast reportedly peaked during the last leg of the war between Lankan army and LTTE.

Khan is not the only Indian influence in the Rajapaksa campaign. It has been reported that Arvind Gupta, a BJP social media guru, is helping the incumbent in the social media side of the campaign.

The presidential election will take place on January 8 as Rajapaksa called the election two years ahead of schedule in an apparent attempt to seek fresh mandate before his party’s popularity tumbles further, after dropping over 21% in September local elections.

(PTI)

Sohrabuddin fake encounter case: Charges against Amit Shah dropped

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Amit-Shah

New Delhi: A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Mumbai discharged BJP president Amit Shah in the fake encounter cases of Shorabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati.

The Central Bureau of Investigation special court dropped all charges against Shah in the alleged fake encounter killings of Sheikh, an alleged extremist, his wife Kauser Bi and Tulsi Prajapati, who was said to be an eyewitness to his killing. This means he will not have to face trial in the case.

“I am of the opinion that the inference drawn by CBI is not accepted in totality and he (Shah) cannot be charged as an accused,” special CBI judge MB Gosavi said in a brief order pronounced in the court.

In September 2013, the CBI had charge-sheeted Shah, the former home minister of Gujarat, and 18 others, including several police officers. Shah was charged with criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and offences under the Arms Act.

Sohrabuddin was allegedly abducted by Gujarat’s anti-terrorism squad and killed in an encounter with the police on November 26, 2005, in Ahmedabad. His wife Kausar Bi was murdered three days later, and her body disposed of.

Following this, Sohrabuddin’s brother, Rubabuddin, had filed a complaint that his brother was killed in a fake encounter.

The Gujarat police had claimed Sohrabuddin had links with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and planned to assassinate important political leaders.

Tulsiram Prajapati was killed by the police at Chapri village in Banaskantha district of Gujarat in December 28, 2006.

The CBI alleged that Shah, who was Gujarat’s home minister at the time, was involved in both killings as the police reported to him.

Shah stepped down as home minister in 2010 after he was arrested in the case. He got bail three months later.

Senior counsel Mihir Desai, who had appeared for complainant Rubabuddin, had argued in court that Shah was in frequent touch with police officers S Rajkumar Pandyan and DG Vanzara, who are in jail in connection with the case, and that he also tried to influence the investigation into the killings.

Looking at the statements recorded in the charge sheet the minimum that can be deciphered is that Shah was either trying to destroy evidence or fabricate it, and hence the discharge plea should be rejected, said Desai.

But Shah’s lawyer had contested that call records of Shah and some police officials between November 2005 and December 2006 have been brought on record, but calls made by Shah before and after the period were not.

Even the content of the talk was not produced, Shah’s lawyer had contested.

(With inputs from PTI)

Afghanistan conflict: Taliban declares 'defeat' of Nato

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The US and its allies insist that Afghan security forces are strong enough to defeat Taliban insurgents

The US and its allies insist that Afghan security forces are strong enough to defeat Taliban insurgents

by BBC

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have declared the “defeat” of the US and its allies, a day after the coalition officially ended its combat mission.

A Taliban statement said the US-led force had “rolled up its flag” without having achieved “anything substantial”.

Nato formally ended its 13-year mission on Sunday, but about 13,000 troops will stay to train the Afghan army.

Meanwhile, officials said four Afghan soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack in Helmand province on Monday.

Three other soldiers were injured during the attack on an army checkpoint in Sangin district. Eight insurgents were said to have been killed.

The US-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) marked the end of its mission by lowering its flag at a ceremony in Kabul on Sunday.

Mission commander Gen John Campbell said the Nato force had “lifted the Afghan people out of the darkness of despair and given them hope for the future”.

‘Demoralised’

But in a statement on Monday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Nato ceremony was “a clear indication of their defeat and disappointment”.

He said the Taliban would establish “a pure Islamic system by expelling the remaining invading forces,” adding that Western troops were “demoralised”.

Nato’s Afghan deployment began after the 9/11 attacks against the US.

At its peak, the US-led Isaf deployment involved more than 130,000 personnel from 50 countries.

But from 1 January, the force will consist of about 13,000 mostly-American troops and will shift to a training and support mission for the Afghan army.

The US will also have an additional force of a few thousand troops whose focus will be counter-terrorism operations.

While the US and its allies say the Afghan security forces have been able to prevent a Taliban offensive, violence has increased in recent months.

This year has been the bloodiest in Afghanistan since 2001, with at least 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces having been killed.

Nearly 3,500 foreign troops have been killed since the beginning of the Nato mission in 2001, including about 2,200 American troops.

Bangladesh sentences Islamist leader to death

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Jamaat-e-Islami leader Azharul Islam found guilty of war crimes committed during 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

Azharul Islam was found guilty for the killing of more than 1,200 people in Rangpur [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

Azharul Islam was found guilty for the killing of more than 1,200 people in Rangpur [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

Bangladesh’s war crimes court has sentenced a leading Islamist leader to death for rape, mass murder and genocide during the country’s 1971 liberation war.

ATM Azharul Islam, 62, assistant secretary general of the nation’s largest Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, became the 16th person and the 11th Islamist to be convicted of atrocities by the International Crimes Tribunal.

The tribunal found him guilty on Tuesday of being a key member of a notorious pro-Pakistan militia.

He was ordered “hanged by the neck” for the genocide of more than 1,200 people in the northern district of Rangpur.

“No doubt, it was mass murder,” presiding judge Enayetur Rahimjudge Rahim told a packed court.

Those killed included hundreds of minority Hindus in one of the worst episodes of the nine-month war, which saw what was then east Pakistan break away from the regime in Islamabad.

Defence lawyer Tajul Islam rejected the charges against Azharul Islam and said his team planned to appeal the verdict in the Supreme Court.

“Azharul Islam was a 19-year-old student during the war and in no way was involved in war crime. The charges against him are false and fabricated,” the lawyer said.

Nationwide shutdown

Jamaat-e-Islami has called dawn-to-dusk countrywide shutdown for Wednesday and Thursday in protest against the verdict.

Previous death sentences handed down against Jamaat leaders, including its supreme and spiritual leaders, plunged Bangladesh into its deadliest unrest last year.

Thousands of Islamists clashed with police in nationwide protests over the verdicts and other issues that left some 500 people dead.

The BNP and Jamaat have called the trials politically motivated, aimed at eliminating opposition leaders rather than rendering justice.

Rights groups have said the trials fall short of international standards. The government maintains they are needed to heal the wounds of the war, which it says left three million people dead.

Independent researchers put the toll much lower.

Indonesia searchers find 'airplane debris'

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Search teams say they have spotted debris and bodies from missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in the Java Sea.

Search teams say that debris was found during the search for QZ8501 which was carrying 162 people [AP]

Search teams say that debris was found during the search for QZ8501 which was carrying 162 people [AP]

by Al Jazeera

Indonesian officials have said that three pieces of airplane debris sighted off Kalimantan coast in the Java Sea is likely to be from missing AirAsia jet.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the head of the search and rescue mission, said that definitive debris, including an exit door from the Flight QZ8501 was found during the search.

Indonesia’s national broadcaster reported sighting bodies floating in the waters, and citing Indonesian officials as saying that there was a shadow of the plane underneath the sea.

AFP news agency, citing reports from the Indonesian navy, said that more than 40 bodies were retrieved in the search.

Six bodies were discovered about an hour and a half flight away from Surabaya earlier on Tuesday.

“The debris is red and white,” Djoko Murjatmodjo, acting director-general of air transportation at the Transportation Ministry, told reporters. “We are checking if it’s debris from the aircraft. It’s probably from the body of the aircraft.”

Flight QZ8501 went missing after air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft about 45 minutes after it left Juanda international airport at Surabaya in East Java at 5.20am on Sunday (22:20 GMT Saturday).

Shortly before disappearing, AirAsia said the pilot of the plane had asked permission from air traffic control to change course and climb above bad weather in an area noted for severe thunderstorms.

The search for the plane carrying 162 people, is now in its third day.

The airline said most of the passengers on board Flight QZ8501 were Indonesians, with three South Koreans and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia, Britain and France.

The aircraft was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Malaysian-based AirAsia which dominates Southeast Asia’s booming low-cost airline market.

AirAsia said the missing jet last underwent maintenance on November 16. The company has never suffered a fatal accident.

AirAsia flight QZ8501: how cloud computing could help prevent air disasters

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AirAsia flight QZ8501 is the third flight from a Malaysian carrier to be lost in 2014. EPA/Barbara Walton

AirAsia flight QZ8501 is the third flight from a Malaysian carrier to be lost in 2014. EPA/Barbara Walton

by Yijun Yu, The Conversation

While the full picture has yet to emerge, it appears that the reason for the loss of Air Asia flight QZ8501 is different from the losses of MH370 and MH17 earlier this year. MH17 was clearly a man-made disaster, QZ8501 appears to be weather-related. MH370 remains a mystery.

Even though cloud-computing could help advance the status of the black box in terms of the investigation after such incidents, as we are only too aware, nature – in the form of bad weather – often plays a significant role in airline disasters. Is there anything we can do, on the ground, to lower the risk of these weather-related incidents?

Recently, Microsoft Research illustrated that combining real-time data from nearby flights, it is possible to predict the wind speed to an accuracy ten times better than the weather simulations by supercomputers. Augmenting the data collected from real-time sensors from the cloud, one can create a better simulation, thanks to the advances in the internet of flying things.

The internet of flying things refers to the technology which is ready for adoption by agencies on the ground who want to get a bird’s-eye view of weather conditions. The basic technology is already available for less than £500: equipping a drone or unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) with a GoPro quality camera, enthusiastic fans can already survey the neighbourhood from the air.

If we look at the air crash incidents caused by bad weather conditions, can the killer technology of cloud computing and augmented reality be used as a life saver?

Is it cyclical reasoning to want to use this sort of cloud computing technology to tell us something that the pilots of a stricken aircraft can already tell from the flight deck? After all, when you fly into such wind speeds, is it not difficult to change one’s actions accordingly? Isn’t the flight simply doomed? Not necessarily. In this case, had nearby flying objects logged the abnormal wind speeds earlier they would have been able to notify air traffic control in time to issue a warning to flight QZ8501. In these situations, often timely interventions can save lives.

Internet of flying objects

But before this idea can practically be realised, there are at least three obstacles to overcome if we want to harness the power of the internet of flying objects.

The first thing to note is that these flying objects shouldn’t be limited to aircraft – we could be talking about weather balloons, drones – anything in the air, in short, but these objects need to be identifiable. Only though identification can messages from these flying objects be recognised and trusted by authorities such as FAA. So, for example, the drones which – it is imagined – will be carrying goods to households (not to mention the many thousands of privately owned drones which have been so popular as presents this Christmas) must be regulated and their call signs logged by the authorities before they can be of any practical help. At present they are not. In other words, the autonomous flying objects are required to collaborate with air traffic controllers if we want to build a picture that will deliver a secure and trustworthy solution.

In addition, these regulated and registered flying objects need to be effectively networked, so that – through the exchange of real-time data – the crowd-sourced information delivers as accurate a picture as possible. Resolving any conflicts arising from information coming in from multiple sources requires a good computational model that can assign appropriate weight to the various sources of information.

And this aggregated data needs to depict a physical truth to decision makers – whether they are in front of the desk in the air traffic control centre, on the flight deck of a nearby aircraft or in command of the rescue team. The task of verifying available evidence against any possible internal flaws or external tampering would require that network security levels are brought to another level.

These three requirements are basic, but if they can be overcome, they might offer us a better opportunity to use today’s technology to provide safer air transport in the future.

Yijun Yu is a Senior Lecturer, Department of Computing and Communications at The Open University.

The Conversation

Dhoni retires from tests, Kohli to lead India

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MS Dhoni

by Ian Ransom, Reuters

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has retired from test cricket “citing the strain of playing all formats,” and Virat Kohli will lead the team in the fourth test against Australia in Sydney, the country’s cricket board said on Tuesday.

The shock announcement came minutes after Dhoni faced reporters in the wake of India’s draw in the third test against Australia in Melbourne, which conceded the four-match series 2-0 to the hosts.

Dhoni said nothing of his retirement plans during the post-match media conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the news was broken on the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI’s twitter feed.

“MS Dhoni has chosen to retire from Test Cricket with immediate effect,” the said on its Twitter feed.

“Virat (Kohli) will be the captain for the 4th and Final Test against Australia.”

The BCCI later issued a statement saying the wicketkeeper-captain would now concentrate on one-day internationals and Twenty20 cricket, a surprise move given most senior cricketers generally forgo the shorter formats of the game in a bid to preserve their test careers.

“One of India’s greatest Test Captains under whose leadership India became the No. 1 team in the Test Rankings MS Dhoni, has decided to retire from Test Cricket citing the strain of playing all formats of Cricket,” the statement said.

“BCCI while respecting the decision of M S Dhoni to retire from Test Cricket, wishes to thank him for his enormous contribution to Test Cricket and the laurels that he has brought to India.”

The 33-year-old had been under immense pressure in the wake of the team’s disappointing 3-1 loss against England and the series defeat by Australia may have hastened the decision.

Long considered Dhoni’s heir apparent, Kohli led the team in the first test against Australia in Adelaide, scoring back-to-back centuries in his debut as captain and earning plaudits for his aggressive approach despite the cliff-hanging loss by 48 runs.

Though not a victory, Dhoni’s last test in charge may have been satisfying on a personal level, having struck an unbeaten 24 to help guide his team to safety on the fifth and final day as Australia’s seamers pushed hard for a third successive win.

His stewardship is likely to be hotly debated for months and years to come, having taken India’s test team to the world number one ranking for a brief period, but also leading a team that would invariably fail to perform away from home soil.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom, Editing by Patrick Johnston)

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