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Mizoram children with cleft lips to get their smiles back
NAT18National/HealthMizoram children with cleft lips to get their smiles backAizawl, Oct 8 IANS A US-based charitable medical mission called the Smile Train has taken an initiative to bring smiles to children with cleft lips and palates in Mizoram. The Smile Train would treat free of cost children with cleft lips and palates at the Greenwood Hospital here."About 30 children with cleft lips and palates would be treated in the three day camp," said Lalbuatsaiha Ralte, medical director of the Hospital. Already 11 children were successfully operated last month as part of the campaign.Headquartered in New York, the Smile Train is an international charity helping children with cleft lips. Founded in 2000 by Brian Mullaney and Charles B. Wang, it has performed more than 280,000 cleft surgeries in 75 of the world's poorest countries."We want to bring back the smiles on faces of the children," Ralte told journalists. Renowned plastic surgeon Sashanka Chatterjee and his team are part of the Smile Train project.The northeast has the highest number of cases of cleft lips and palates in India. According to experts, about 30,000 children in India are born with cleft lip every year and less than 50 percent of them go for treatment. After Mizoram, the Smile Train is likely to visit Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura.---Indo-Asian News Servicesc/szh/sk/jg236 Words08101340 read more
Eurasian leaders meet Friday to discuss market crisis
INT45International/Diplomacy/BusinessEurasian leaders meet Friday to discuss market crisisMoscow, Oct 8 RIA Novosti The leaders of the Eurasian Economic Community Eurasec will gather in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek Friday to discuss joint measures to tackle the global financial crisis. "We will try to make progress at Eurasec on the economic environment. What is happening in the world is pushing us," Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said, adding that the summit will focus on the slowdown in WTO membership talks and the global credit crunch. Eurasec, established in 2000, is an international economic organization, consisting of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine have observer status. The agenda for the summit will also include setting up a customs union among Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, said Prikhodko, adding that the other Eurasec members will also have an opportunity to join the customs union. Tair Mansurov, the Eurasec secretary general, said earlier that the customs union could be established in the first half of 2010. Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, Wednesday ratified documents on forming the strategic alliance. The Eurasec leaders are also expected to discuss the organization's agenda for 2008-2010, including joint cooperation in the energy, transport, security, social and humanitarian spheres, as well as migration policy. --RIA Novostidkg/jg227 Words08101409 read moreBlackBerry to be catalyst for India's progress, says co-CEO
BUS13Business/InternationalBlackBerry to be catalyst for India's progress, says co-CEOBy Gurmukh SinghToronto, Oct 8 IANS BlackBerry will be a major tool in India's quest to become a developed nation by 2020, according to a top official at the maker of the device Research in Motion RIM."BlackBerry could be a great platform for India's 2020 vision of development - something RIM is currently cooperating with the Indian government on," RIM's co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in his address at the Canada-India Business Council C-IBC Diwali dinner here Tuesday night.He said Blackberry has already become an "essential tool for the rapidly growing business people in India's world-class industry".Balsillie said BlackBerry already has five carriers in India - Bharati Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, BPL and Tata Communications - and that it would soon add two more carriers. "We have opened a new office in Mumbai and the business is growing rapidly. There are several hundred thousand BlackBerry users in India today, and we anticipate millions of customers before long," he said.Describing the BlackBerry as "profoundly empowering and democratic", Balsillie said: "It will allow millions of people in India to leapfrog and transit straight to the 21st century. And as it is, few countries are making that transition as dramatically as India."In the rapidly changing world, the RIM co-CEO said: "India is a major agent of that change."Recalling his recent visit to India, Balsillie said he was profoundly impressed by "breath-taking transition under way in India."Lavishing praise on India's ancient scriptures, literature and philosophy, he said modern science was based on the concept of zero and the decimal system developed by ancient Indians. And contemporary India entrepreneurs, including the Mittals, the Tatas, and IT companies such as Infosys have left their mark on the world, he added.In a few years, Balsillie said, India will become the fourth largest economy in the world and reach the status of a developed nation by 2020.For deeper engagement between India and Canada, he suggested a permanent Canadian education presence in India to recruit Indian students, and permanent exchange programmes for businesses as well as the best and brightest talent.Earlier, C-IBC chairman Roy MacLaren paid rich tributes to the late Thomas Bata who founded the organisation 26 years ago to bring India and Canada closer. Deputy chairman Gary Comerford said India was no longer an elephant. "For its rapid economic growth, it has become the cheetah of the world," he said amid laughter.Outgoing president Kam Rathee said the council would play a bigger role in promoting India-Canada business ties in the coming years.--Indo-Asian News Servicegs/ank/dg 470 Words08101425 read moreBlackBerry Storm unveiled to take on iPhone
BUS11Business/Technology/InternationalBlackBerry Storm unveiled to take on iPhoneToronto, Oct 8 IANS To pitch itself in direct competition with Apple's iPhone3 and woo general consumers, Canadian wireless giant Research in Motion RIM Tuesday unveiled its much-expected first clickable touch-screen BlackBerry Storm.The Waterloo-based wireless major said the new device would be available exclusively to Verizon customers in the US and Vodafone customers in Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand in the autumn.The announcement comes within days after RIM shares took a massive hit on the Toronto Stock Exchange after it reported less-than-expected profits.RIM said its new revolutionary touch-screen is much like a physical keyboard and supports single-touch, multi-touch and gestures for efficient application navigation. It said the user distinctly feels the screen being pressed and released with a gentle "click" similar to the feeling of a key on a physical keyboard or a button on a mouse. Other features include a built-in accelerometer that allows the touch-screen to automatically switch between landscape mode and portrait mode when the user rotates the handset.RIM said navigating web sites is fast and easy with the Storm's touch-screen interface that lets users double tap to zoom in and slide their fingers to scroll and pan. "We are proud to introduce the first touch-screen based BlackBerry smartphone together with Verizon Wireless and Vodafone," said Mike Lazaridis, RIM's president and co-CEO. "The BlackBerry Storm is a revolutionary touch-screen smartphone that meets both the communications and multimedia needs of customers and solves the longstanding problem associated with typing on traditional touch-screens. "Consumers and business customers alike will appreciate this unique combination of a large and vibrant screen with a truly tactile touch interface," he said. -Indo-Asian News Servicegs/ank/jg305 Words08101411 read moreGulf investors look to India, China
ECO2Economy/InternationalGulf investors look to India, ChinaDubai, Oct 8 IANS India is among the countries investors in the Middle East are looking at as investment destinations following the global financial meltdown. Investors who have gathered here to participate at a real estate exhibition, Cityscape 2008, are of the view that the global financial crisis has proved that the Indian, Chinese and Malaysian markets are safer than that of the US. “The fundamentals of the economies of China, India and Malaysia are robust,” Sulyman A. Aziz Al-Majid, chairman of Saudi Arabia's Tanmiyat Investment Group, told the Khaleej Times. “China and India have massive potential in demands and resources. So, investing in these countries makes sense,” he said. The credit crunch has raised fears about the safety of investments not only in the US, but in Europe as well. “The ongoing financial crisis in the US and Europe has raised serious doubts about the safety of investments there,” Mohammad Al Haj, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi-based property developer MBI, was quoted as saying. “Even the investors there are now looking towards Asia and the Middle East for investments,” he said. He, however, added that countries in the east would be able to lure investors from the Middle East only if they addressed “the challenges of making their systems more transparent, efficient and investor-friendly”. According to Moosa Al Hashemi, chief commercial officer of Abu Dhabi real estate developer Manazel, the United Arab Emirates UAE has not been affected much by the meltdown in the West. “The UAE has not been relying on the US markets and resources even in the past, and that is why we are not severely affected by the aftershocks of the financial earthquake the US and other countries are experiencing,” he said. “But the crisis emphasises the need for making concerted efforts to explore the fast growing markets in Asia and the Middle East,” Hashemi stated. --Indo-Asian News Serviceab/sj/jg351 Words08101418 read moreKenya deports anti-Obama US author
INT55International/Immigration/Politics/BooksKenya deports anti-Obama US authorNairobi, Oct 8 Xinhua Kenya has ordered out an American author who wrote a controversial book slamming US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Jerome Corsi had planned to make public statements in Kenya that were critical of both Obama and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga after travelling to Obama's family homeland to investigate links between the Democratic nominee and Kenyan politicians. He had scheduled a news conference Tuesday at a Nairobi hotel for the Kenyan launch of his book, "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality". Obama's father was Kenyan, and he still has relatives and supporters in the country. Corsi was even carrying a $1,000 cheque for Obama's half-brother who lives in a Nairobi slum as part of a spectacular act to shame Obama, the first African-American to come as close to the White House as he has done. But the author of the anti-Obama book was declared persona non grata and ordered out of the country Tuesday night. Corsi was detained by immigration authorities as he arrived at the Nairobi hotel where the book launch was due to take place. He was accused of engaging in illegal activities in Kenya. The move came hours before Obama and John McCain took to the stage for the second live TV debate. The US presidential contest was turning increasingly acrid Tuesday as the rivals launched personal attacks on each other. Tim Bueler, Corsi's assistant, said Tuesday that they would be flying to London on an overnight flight. "Our passports and visas are in order but it seems the Kenyan authorities have lost our arrival cards, which we filled in on the plane coming here," he told journalists before being escorted to the airport. "So we will leave while they complete their investigations but we have been told we can return." Immigration officers said Corsi was "free to apply for a valid work permit to come back and launch his book". Sources at immigration department said that Corsi and Bueler had their visitors' passes annulled for violating rules. "They violated terms of the visitor's pass by engaging in a business and marketing of his book. They required a special permit to do business," a top immigration officer said. Corsi claimed he had earlier met a top government official, who "gave me a nod to go ahead". Corsi's troubles began about 10 minutes before the news conference was set to begin when immigration authorities questioned him and his US media liaison, Bueler. Pro-Obama youths protested outside the hotel, claiming the launch was a smear campaign against the Democratic hopeful. A US embassy official said they had not been told officially about the arrests, saying they had learnt about the development from the media. The official said Corsi was on a private individual's visit and did not warrant comment from the embassy since he was not a US government official. Corsi rose to prominence in 2004, when he teamed up with Swift Boat Veterans for Truth to publish "Unfit for Command", part of a campaign to keep John Kerry out of the White House. It maligned his Vietnam record and was credited with helping to sink his campaign. This time around, Corsi's new book "The Obama Nation" has occupied the upper reaches of the New York Times bestseller lists since being published in August. The book questions Obama's character, attacks his fitness to take up office and rakes over his family history.--Xinhuadkg/jg645 Words08101458 read morePeople throng to 'Navratri witches' for cure to AIDS, cancer
NAT23National/Health/SocietyPeople throng to 'Navratri witches' for cure to AIDS, cancerBy Sujeet Kumar Raipur, Oct 8 IANS In a bizarre ritual that took place midnight last on the outskirts of Raipur, three women known as the 'Navratri witches' and claiming to be blessed by goddess Durga, slapped people while chanting the names of the goddess to rid them of dreaded diseases like AIDS and cancer. On the banks of a pond at New Purena locality, poor people suffering from serious ailments came to be 'cured' by the three 'witches' who claimed to adept in witchcraft. The two-hour 'healing' ceremony began at midnight Tuesday.The bare-feet women in their mid-30s, dressed in black sarees and with their hair open, slapped over two dozen people in order to 'cure' them of their diseases on the annual traditional Mahashtami night one of the most important nights during the Navratri festival"Devi Durga has blessed them pointing towards the three witches with divine power, one of them slapped me three times while chanting 'Maa Jagdambe'," Sukhla, an AIDS patient, told IANS. Sukhla, a rickshaw puller, claimed that last year on Mahashtami night his two-year-old son Kalu was 'cured' of the HIV virus.13-year-old Poonam who works as a domestic worker, was weeping after being slapped by one of the 'witches'. Her mother, however, was hopeful that the girl would soon recover from a serious heart ailment. "Recently, I thought of committing suicide as we have nothing to eat because all our earnings go towards paying doctors as she Poonam has a hole in the heart. But recently a relative told me about the treatment by the 'Navratri witches' and we came here," said Poonam's mother. 'Treatment' by the 'Navratri witches' has been very popular for the past few decades in Chhattisgarh villages mainly in tribal dominated pockets. --Indo-Asian News Service suj/ak/dg325 Words08101542 read moreQantas cuts fuel surcharge on its international fares
INT43International/Accident/Aviation/EconomyQantas cuts fuel surcharge on its international faresSydney, Oct 8 IANS Australia's flagship carrier, Qantas, will cut fuel surcharge on its international fares beginning Thursday with flights to India costing 15 Australian dollars or Rs.500 less. The announcement came as air safety investigators said an "irregularity" in the onboard computer equipment caused the mid-air incident on the Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth Tuesday in which 36 passengers were injured. The Airbus A330-300, with 303 passengers and a crew of 10 onboard, dramatically dropped altitude before making an emergency landing at Learmonth military base, 1,260 km north of Perth on Australia's west coast. At least 36 passengers, predominantly at the rear of the aircraft, sustained injuries some serious spinal injuries and others suffered broken bones, bruises and lacerations. However, none of them have life-threatening injuries. According to one passenger, the plane plunged 8,000 feet 2,440 metres in about 10 seconds. "The pilots received electronic centralised aircraft monitoring messages in the cockpit relating to some irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system," Julian Walshe, Australian Transport Safety Bureau's ATSB director of aviation safety investigation, told reporters in Canberra. The aircraft, which was flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet, plunged then "departed level flight", and climbed approximately 300 feet. "The crew had initiated the non-normal checklist response actions. The aircraft is then reported to have abruptly pitched nose down," Walshe told reporters. An airline with an impeccable safety record, Qantas has faced turbulent times in recent months with several mid-air incidents involving its aircraft.The Civil Aviation Safety Authority's recent review found that there were broad "deficiencies" in Qantas' maintenance programme.As a new survey Wednesday revealed that 63 percent Australians believe the safety standards of Qantas have slipped, the airlines announced that surcharge on flights from Australia to Britain and Europe will be cut by $20 to $190 and flights to the US, Canada, South America, South Africa and India will be lower by $15 at $150.--Indo-Asian News Servicenb/sk/dg359 Words*08101404 read moreBrown hails bailout plan for banks Lead
INT56International/BusinessBrown hails bailout plan for banks LeadLondon, Oct 8 DPA British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has hailed as "bold and far-reaching" a major rescue package for leading banks of 50 billion pounds $87 billion announced Wednesday. "New and innovative" ways were required to tackle the fall-out of the global credit crisis on banks and the economy in general, Brown said in a statement. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, who detailed the plan in a written statement to the London stock market Wednesday, said the package was a "major step forward" in the government's commitment to maintain stability in the banking system. The package, finalized only in the early hours of Wednesday, foresees an injection of capital of 50 billion pounds of taxpayers' money over three years. It will initially make the extra capital available to eight of Britain's largest banks and building societies. In return for the funding, the government will receive preferential shares in those institutions. The money will be used to prop up the banking system that has seen share prices plunging in recent weeks as banks have struggled to access funding. As part of the package, a further 200 billion pounds will be made available by the Bank of England for short-term borrowing to provide liquidity to banks and building societies. There will also be a special company set up to provide up to 250 billion pounds in loan guarantees to banks and building societies lending money to each other. According to the Financial Times Wednesday, the recapitalization programme will more than double planned public borrowing this year, pushing public sector net borrowing close to 100 billion pounds or 6 percent of national income. "This is beginning a process of un-bunging a big problem where banks won't lend to each other for long periods," Darling said. The government hopes that taxpayers may even end up making a profit from the shares in the longer term. While banking stocks rose in London on the news, the Financial Times Index was sharply down Wednesday. It is hoped that the scheme, using taxpayers' money in what amounts to the part-nationalization of leading banks, will restore confidence, revive lending and stimulate the flagging economy. The move, sealed at a top-level meeting called by Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street late Tuesday, came after two days of turbulent sessions on the stock exchange, which saw leading bank shares fall sharply.--DPAdkg438 Words08101501 read moreAzamgarh terror taint renders Lucknow students homeless
NAT27National/Education/TerrorismAzamgarh terror taint renders Lucknow students homelessLucknow, Oct 8 IANS Suddenly, nearly half a dozen students of the Lucknow Arts College find that no one is willing to let out rooms to them. They are paying the price for belonging to Azamgarh, the district that has lately been linked to suspected terrorists.These are among the 15-odd Muslim as well as Hindu students from eastern Uttar Pradesh - which houses Azamgarh - for whom paying guest accommodation has dried up. "After being evicted by their landlords, these students have approached us. But as our college hostels are under renovation, we cannot provide a permanent solution to their problem," college Principal Rajeev Nayan told IANS. However, "considering our moral responsibility, for the time being we have decided to accommodate these students in a guest house of Lucknow University, which governs our college," he added. These students, their bags and baggage in tow, met Nayan Tuesday evening, officials said.The students are enrolled in different undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including bachelor and master of fine arts, officials added. They have been in a spot ever since Azamgarh was found to be the hometown of two suspected terrorists who were killed for alleged involvement in the Delhi serial bombings last month. Significantly, in the last two months, nearly a dozen youths hailing from Azamgarh have been sent to jail in connection with blasts in various parts of the country. One such youth, Abu Bashar, was arrested in August for his alleged role in the Gujarat serial blasts. --Indo-Asian News Serviceas/dd/pg/dg277 Words*08101553 read more| << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... > >> | ||
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