NEW YORK (TIP): The group that equated Muslim radicals with savages in advertisements last year has put up another set of provocative ads in dozens of New York City subway stations. The American Freedom Defense Initiative purchased space next to 228 clocks in 39 stations for ads with an image of the burning World Trade Center and a quote attributed to the Quran saying: “Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.” The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the ads went up on Monday and will run for a month. The same group paid for ads to be displayed in 10 stations in September. Those ads implied enemies of Israel are “savages.” The MTA also sold space last year to competing advertisements that urged tolerance.
Year: 2013
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Accused Colorado Theatre Massacre Shooter Posed With Weapons
CENTENNIAL (TIP): Self-portraits of accused Colorado movie house gunman James Holmes posing with firearms and body armor ended prosecutors’ pretrial case against the former graduate student on January 9, but defense lawyers declined to present evidence or witnesses of their own. The pictures, which police said Holmes took of himself with an iPhone before his shooting rampage at a midnight showing of a “Batman” film last summer, capped three days of hearings in which prosecutors laid out their case for putting him on trial. The onetime neuroscience doctoral student is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder for the 12 people who were slain and dozens of others wounded at the opening of ” The Dark Knight Rises” in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
Prosecutor Karen Pearson said in her closing arguments that Holmes would have killed more people had his rifle not jammed, adding, “He certainly had the ammo to do so.” The July attack marked one of the most lethal mass shootings in U.S. history and one of a string of mass shootings last year capped by the massacre of 20 children and six adults in December at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Wrapping up the prosecution’s case against Holmes on Wednesday, Aurora police sergeant Matthew Fyles ran through pictures Holmes took roughly six hours before the deadly assault on the Century 16 multiplex near his home. In one picture, Holmes grinned while holding the muzzle of a handgun near his face. He stuck his tongue out in another photo. His brightly dyed red hair was visible in both pictures, and he wore black contact lenses that made his pupils appear abnormally large. In another picture taken the same evening, his bed was strewn with guns, ammunition magazines, body armor, a gas mask and other gear.
Booby-trapped apartment
In a self-portrait taken on July 5, Holmes posed with a semi-automatic rifle and wore the tactical body armor he was wearing when he was arrested. A separate photo taken on July 16 showed the booby-trapped explosives Holmes is accused of rigging up inside his apartment, which according to police he had intended as a diversion to draw authorities away from the theater the night of the assault. The explosives were safely dismantled after the shooting. Holmes’ lawyers, seen by legal experts as preparing for an insanity defense, had been planning to call two witnesses to testify this week about their client’s state of mind around the time of the shootings. But in a surprise twist to the proceedings after the prosecution rested its case on Wednesday, public defender Daniel King told the judge his team had decided not to present its own evidence or testimony. “This is a preliminary hearing and not the proper venue or time to put on a show or truncated defense,” King said. The defense also declined to make a closing statement before the hearing was adjourned. Arapahoe county district judge William Sylvester said he was taking evidence presented this week under advisement and scheduled a new court hearing for Friday that he said would serve as a “status hearing and/or arraignment.” If the judge orders the case to proceed to trial, Holmes, 25, is widely expected to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Authorities have offered no motive for the slayings. Holmes’ lawyers have said he suffers from mental illness, but they have not been more specific. -
India Says Contract On French Rafale Jets Being Fine-Tuned
PARIS (TIP): India is fine-tuning a contract to buy 126 French-made Rafale fighter jets, foreign minister Salman Khurshid said, adding that Paris would have to “wait a little” to pop the bubbly. India last year selected Dassault Aviation as its preferred bidder in a USD 10 billion (7.6 billion euro) contract to equip its air force with new fighter jets. “We know good French wine takes time to mature and so do good contracts,” Khurshid said after a meeting with French foreign minister Laurent Fabius. “The contract details are being worked out,” he said. “A decision has already been taken, just wait a little for the cork to pop and you’ll have some good wine to taste.” France is keen to make its first foreign sale of the Rafale, which has struggled to find buyers to support a project that has cost tens of billions of euros. If the contract is finalized, the first 18 aircraft will be supplied directly by Dassault and the remainder will be produced under license by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a state-run Indian firm, in Bangalore. Fabius also struck an upbeat note saying that while the final choice was up to New Delhi, Khurshid had assured him that “things are proceeding well”.
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Out Of Wife’s Love, Pak Man Tears Up Passport To Get Off Plane
LAHORE (TIP): A Pakistani man tore up his passport in a bid to get off an Italy-bound flight after getting a phone call from his distressed wife who was upset about his decision to go abroad, officials said. Faisal Ali, a resident of Gujarat district of Punjab province, tore up the passport minutes before the Pakistan International Airlines flight was to take off from Lahore airport yesterday. Ali got his boarding card and entered the plane. However, he disembarked minutes later and informed immigration authorities that he had lost his passport, officials said. When he was interrogated by officials, Ali revealed he had acted out of “love for his wife”. He told officials that his wife was “very upset” about his decision to go abroad. Ali said he decided not to travel after his wife telephoned him while he was in the plane and began crying. “I decided to leave the aircraft after hearing my wife crying on the phone. I tore up my passport so that I can never even think of leaving my beloved wife,” Ali was quoted as saying by an official. Authorities released Ali after recovering his torn passport.
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Floating Ice On Saturn’s Moon Titan May Harbour ‘Exotic Life’
WASHINGTON (TIP): Nasa scientists have discovered blocks of hydrocarbon ice in seas and lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan that may host exotic forms of life.
A new study by scientists on Nasa’s Cassini mission found that blocks of hydrocarbon ice might decorate the surface of existing lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbon on Titan. “One of the most intriguing questions about these lakes and seas is whether they might host an exotic form of life,” said Jonathan Lunine of Cornell University, coauthor of the study. “And the formation of floating hydrocarbon ice will provide an opportunity for interesting chemistry along the boundary between liquid and solid, a boundary that may have been important in the origin of terrestrial life,” Lunine said in a statement.
Titan is the only other body besides Earth in our solar system with stable bodies of liquid on its surface. While our planet’s cycle of precipitation and evaporation involves water, Titan’s cycle involves hydrocarbons like ethane and methane . Ethane and methane are organic molecules, which scientists think can be building blocks for the more complex chemistry from which life arose. Up to this point, Cassini scientists assumed that Titan lakes would not have floating ice, because solid methane is denser than liquid methane and would sink.
Aliens living on moons like Avatar’s Pandora?
Moons similar to the one depicted in Hollywood flick ‘Avatar’ may be among the most common places to find alien life, scientists believe. Astronomers came to the conclusion after identifying up to 15 new planets orbiting the life-friendly ‘habitable zones’ of stars. All are giant gaseous worlds similar in size to Jupiter or Neptune. While such planets would not themselves be suitable for Earth-like life, they could be circled by moons on which there are forests, oceans and living creatures, researchers now believe, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported. Pandora, the fictional moon in James Cameron’s movie ‘Avatar’ , is just such a world. So far only one of the 15 newly discovered objects has been confirmed as an exoplanet with 99.9% certainty. The rest still fall into the category of ‘candidate’ planets while further evidence is collected. The confirmed planet, known as PH2 b, orbits a sunlike star in the constellation Cygnus several hundred light years away. -
A Platinum Solution To U.S. Fiscal Woes: $1 Trillion Coin
WASHINGTON (TIP): If you had to flip a coin over whether Congress will raise the debt ceiling, here’s the ultimate one – a freshly minted trillion-dollar platinum coin. A formal petition has been started asking the White House to create such a coin in order to avoid another high-stakes fiscal battle to raise the debt ceiling. The Treasury secretary has the authority to mint platinum coins in the denomination of his choosing, but likely would run into stiff opposition from lawmakers who have been trying to reduce the budget deficits. Creating the cash would also completely override the independence of monetary policy, something the Obama administration has been very careful not to do in the past.
The coin petition is one of many wacky requests to alight on the White House’s website. People have petitioned the President to nationalize the Twinkie industry, deport British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan for gun control comments he made on air, and give Vice President Joe Biden his own TV show. About 4,000 signatures have been collected for the coin petition, which was created two days after lawmakers passed a bill to avert austerity measures of higher taxes and spending cuts. Shown are the petitioner’s first name, first initial of surname, and in most cases, the city. In order to get a formal response from the White House, 25,000 signatures must be collected by early February.
“While this may seem like an unnecessarily extreme measure, it is no more absurd than playing political football with the US — and global — economy at stake,” the petition said. The U.S. Treasury began shuffling funds in order to pay government bills after the country hit the $16.4 trillion legal limit on its debt Dec. 31. However, the Treasury’s accounting maneuvers will last only until around the end of February, giving Congress two months to raise the debt limit before the U.S. defaults on its debt. Last week’s deal forced Republicans to forgo their anti-tax pledges and give in to Democratic demands to raise taxes on the wealthiest. Now Republicans want to use the debt limit increase to win spending cuts from Democrats as well as major changes to Social Security retirement and Medicare health care programs.
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Syria’s Rebels Form Their Own Secret Police
BEIRUT (TIP): Just the mention of the word would send shivers down the spine of Syrians: “mukhabarat”, or secret police. Abuses by President Bashar al- Assad’s feared security units were among the reasons Syrians took to the streets in March 2011, leading to an uprising that has become a civil war. But now some of the rebels fighting Assad say they have set up a mukhabarat of their own to “protect the revolution”, monitor sensitive military sites and gather military information to help rebels plan attacks against government forces. “We formally formed the unit in November. It provides all kind of information to (opposition) politicians and fighters. We are independent and just serve the revolution,” said a rebel intelligence officer who goes under the name Haji.
Rebel commanders had put Reuters in touch with Haji, who is based in Syria, via Skype on condition he not be identified. Haji said most of the rebel mukhabarat’s members were army defectors and former intelligence officers, and that the information they gathered was distributed to all anti-Assad factions and rebel brigades without discrimination. However, the organisation appears to operate independently from the main opposition Syrian National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army, effectively answering to itself.
Haji was careful to distinguish between its methods and those of the secret police under Assad, saying he was aware of the feared reputation of the government’s internal spy services. “Our work is organised, we have an internal law and we are committed to international laws and human rights,” he said, speaking briefly over Skype. Assad’s mukhabarat – a blanket term for an array of sometimes overlapping and mutually mistrustful security services – that has helped keep his father before him in power for more than four decades, stamping out dissent and insulating Syria from the frequent military coups that had plagued it previously.
Clandestine activity
The new rebel body has operated secretly for months, Haji said, helping fighters carry out attacks on government targets. He did not specifically claim credit for a bomb attack on a security headquarters in Damascus in July that killed five of Assad’s top security officials, including his defence minister and his brother-inlaw, who was an intelligence chief. Haji declined to disclose details of the rebel agency, but said it operated across Syria, including in Aleppo and Idlib in the north, Deir al-Zor in the east and the capital Damascus, adding: “We have our spies among the regime who are providing us with information that we need, including military information.” Syrians have long exchanged horror stories of the dungeons of the intelligence branches where dissidents were incarcerated, often tortured and sometimes killed. Opposition activists insist their own mukhabarat will be nothing like those Assad inherited from his father, the late President Hafez al- Assad.“The word security should mean the security of the people,” said an opposition activist using the name Abu Hisham in Aleppo. “Unfortunately, Assad’s security bodies changed it to mean preserving the security of the government against the people,” he said. “Having this agency is important right now to track down the shabbiha (pro-Assad militia) and regime forces. We hope they remain up to the responsibility after toppling Assad.” The rebel mukhabarat is keeping a close eye on the movements of Assad’s family, his army generals and senior officials who until now remain out of the insurgents’ reach, Haji said. He denied widespread rumors that Assad’s brother Maher, a military commander, had also been killed in the July bombing, adding that his wife had given birth to twin boys last month. Haji also said Assad, who gave a speech in the Damascus Opera House on Sunday, remains in the capital, but that morale of government officials was low and that many were secretly helping the rebels as an insurance policy in case they won. “They approach us and they give us the information. We do not pay them. They say all they want is protection for their families later on,” he said, alluding to a post- Assad Syria.
Sectarian tool
In the Arab world’s many past or present police states, Syria’s mukhabarat has long had a reputation as one of the most ruthless. It consists of at least five powerful agencies who spy on each other, tap phones of dissidents and vie for power. Created under French Mandate rule of Syria from 1923-43, the secret police became ever more powerful under Hafez al-Assad, who ruled with an iron fist from 1971 until his death in 2000. Corruption, personal interests and a lack of communication among its branches might appear to offer avenues for rebels to infiltrate Assad’s mukhabarat, but the security services are dominated by the Syrian leader’s tight-knit Alawite minority. The Alawites, who make up about 12 percent of Syria’s 23 million people, have rallied behind Assad, fearing revenge by the mostly Sunni Muslim rebels if he is toppled. Other minorities, which include Druze, Christians and Shi’ites, fear for their freedoms if the armed revolt brings Sunni Islamist hardliners to power.Such fears deepened after documented abuses by some rebels accused of torturing and summarily executing their opponents, as well as of looting state and private property during nearly 22 months of conflict that has cost at least 60,000 lives. Haji said his intelligence agents were documenting such violations so that the perpetrators could be held to account. “We are watching everybody. We have gathered information about every violation that happened in the revolt,” he said. “Those we cannot punish now will be punished after toppling Assad. Nothing will be ignored. We have our members among all the working brigades. They are not known to be intelligence and they operate quietly.” His agents, Haji said, worked under cover as activists, citizen journalists or fighters.
While welcoming the formation of the rebel intelligence service, one insurgent commander voiced concern it might change its agenda to serve a group or a political party later on, just as Assad’s mukhabarat had focused on protecting his rule. “After toppling Assad all of this will be reshaped – it is a temporary unit but there is fear that this unit will remain secretive the way it is now and starts executing unwanted agendas,” said the commander, known as Obeida. “We fear that later it will become political and serve a political agenda as if all our sacrifices never happened.”
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Here’s A Drug To Reverse Permanent Deafness
LONDON (TIP):Harvard scientists have developed a drug which they claim can cure permanent deafness by stimulating the inner ear. The drug, codenamed LY411575, works by triggering the regeneration of sensory hair cells. Until now it has not been possible to restore the cells once they have been lost due to factors such as loud noise exposure, infection and toxic drugs, the Daily Mail said. This type of deafness, often suffered by rock musicians and DJs, is generally assumed to be irreversible. Scientists succeeded in partially restoring hearing to mice that had been deafened by loud noise and believe the research could lead to effective treatments for in humans. The new approach involves reprogramming inner ear cells by inhibiting a protein, Notch. Previous research shows Notch signals help prevent stem cells in the cochlea transforming themselves into new sensory hair cells.
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China Paper Hits Newsstands, But Protests Still On
GUANGZHOU (TIP): A weekly Chinese newspaper at the centre of anti-censorship protests appeared on newsstands on Thursday as a newsroom strike ended amid fresh calls for the Communist Party leadership to loosen its grip on the media. The strike at the Southern Weekly in the affluent Guangdong province came after censors watered down a page-two editorial in the New Year edition. Calls for China to enshrine constitutional rights were replaced with comments praising oneparty rule. The rare newsroom revolt at one of China’s most respected and liberal papers hit a raw nerve nationwide, with calls for freedom of expression led by bloggers with millions of followers such as actress Yao Chen and writer Han Han.
How the party responds to those calls will be a key indicator of new party leader Xi Jinping’s reformist inclinations. About six protesters were forcibly cleared from the gates of the paper by plainclothes officials on Thursday, shouting as they were bundled into vehicles as dozens of uniformed police officers looked on. The problem of reconciling the conflict between conservatives and liberals was illustrated in scuffles and heated arguments outside the Southern Weekly’s gates all week. Leftists carrying Mao Zedong posters and red China flags repeatedly abused scores of Southern Weekly supporters for undermining China’s socialist system and one-party rule.
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Nasa’s Kepler Mission Discovers
NEW DELHI (TIP): It is no longer a question of will we find a true Earth analogue, but a question of when, says Steve Howell, project scientist at the NASA mission that is searching for new planets orbiting other stars. On Monday, NASA announced that its Kepler space telescope had discovered 461 new planet candidates. With this addition, the number of potential planets discovered so far has gone up to 2,740 orbiting 2,036 stars. That’s a 20 percent increase since data was released in February last year. Four of the potential new planets revealed are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in their sun’s “habitable zone,” the region in the planetary system where liquid water might exist on the surface of a planet, NASA said in a statement. Just like our Solar System, 43 percent of Kepler’s planet candidates are observed to have neighbor planets.
The new data increase the number of stars discovered to have more than one planet candidate from 365 to 467. “The large number of multicandidate systems being found by Kepler implies that a substantial fraction of exoplanets reside in flat multi-planet systems,” said Jack Lissauer, planetary scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. “This is consistent with what we know about our own planetary neighborhood.” The Kepler space telescope identifies planet candidates by repeatedly measuring the change in brightness of more than 150,000 stars in search of planets that pass in front of, or “transit,” their host star. At least three transits are required to verify a signal as a potential planet.
Scientists analyzed more than 13,000 transit-like signals to eliminate known spacecraft instrumentation and astrophysical false positives, phenomena that masquerade as planetary candidates, to identify the potential new planets. Candidates require additional follow-up observations and analyses to be confirmed as planets. At the beginning of 2012, 33 candidates in the Kepler data had been confirmed as planets. Today, there are 105. Kepler space telescope, named after the 17th century German astronomer Johannes Kepler was launched in March 2009. It is fixedly looking at a view that covers about 145,000 stars in the neighborhood of the Solar System, within the Milky Way.
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Insulin breakthrough could see end to needles
SYDNEY (TIP): Breakthrough research mapping how insulin works at a molecular level could lead to new diabetes treatments and end daily needle jabs, helping hundreds of millions of suffers, scientists said. A joint US-Australian team said it has been able to lay out for the first time in atomic detail how the insulin hormone binds to the surface of cells, triggering the passage of glucose from the bloodstream to be stored as energy.
Lead researcher Mike Lawrence said the discovery, more than 20 years in the making and using powerful xray beams, would unlock new and more effective kinds of diabetes medication. “Until now we have not been able to see how these molecules interact with cells,” said Lawrence, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. “We can now exploit this knowledge to design new insulin medications with improved properties, which is very exciting.” Lawrence said the team’s study, published in the latest edition of Nature, had revealed a “molecular handshake” between the insulin and its receptor on the surface of cells. “Both insulin and its receptor undergo rearrangement as they interact — a piece of insulin folds out and key pieces within the receptor move to engage the insulin hormone,” he said of the “unusual” binding method.
Understanding how insulin attaches to cells was key to developing “novel” treatments of diabetes, a chronic condition in which the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body cannot use it properly. “The generation of new types of insulin have been limited by our inability to see how insulin docks into its receptor in the body,” Lawrence said. “This discovery could conceivably lead to new types of insulin that could be given in ways other than injection, or an insulin that has improved properties or longer activity so that it doesn’t need to be taken as often.” Importantly, Lawrence said the discovery could also have ramifications for the treatment of diabetes in developing nations, allowing for the creation of more stable insulins that do not need refrigeration. It could also have applications in the treatment of cancer and Alzheimer’s, with insulin playing a role in both diseases, he added.
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Scotland Yard Recovers Stolen Hindu Jewellery
LONDON (TIP): High value jewellery and ornaments, possibly smuggled out of India, have been seized by Scotland Yard in an investigation into stolen goods. The Yard on Thursday put out an appeal to owners to claim the precious goods. The fact that the police are unaware of who these belong to has raised suspicions that these may have been imported illegally. The haul include a jewel-encrusted gold ring in the shape of an owl, a statuette of Ganesha, said to be of silver or platinum, and coins featuring Hindu images. Scotland Yard’s inquiry, codenamed Operation Maxim, recovered the valuables from addresses in London. But it said, “It is believed the items were stolen from homes across the UK.” Operation Maxim’s detective sergeant Ian Gibson said, “Many of these items are unique. Some feature engravings of names and what we believe is Hindi (perhaps Sanskrit) script. There are a number of items, featuring Hindu and other religious imagery.” He added, “…We suspect that these are family heirlooms or ceremonial pieces, and that they will hold sentimental value for the owners.”
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Ailing Chavez Misses Own Inauguration Bash
CARACAS (TIP): With cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez hospitalized in Cuba, thousands of flag-waving Venezuelans in red shirts filled the streets of Caracas on Thursday to inaugurate his new term without him. Bands played anthems from street-side stages as people poured out of buses to make their way on foot toward the Miraflores presidential palace for a symbolic swearing-in of the people in place of Chavez, who is too sick to take the oath of office. “I love the president,” said Pedro Brito, a 60-year-old law professor, in a red T-shirt with slogan “I am Chavez.” “He has done a lot for poor people, the ones who had no place to sleep or food to eat. He has shown us how to love the country.”
Vice President Nicolas Maduro hosted a meeting of leftist Latin America presidents and other foreign representatives who have come to show support for the Chavez government in a period of deep uncertainty. The supreme court cleared the ailing Chavez to indefinitely postpone his swearing-in and said his existing administration could remain in office until he is well enough to take the oath. It was the last legal hurdle to a government plan for resolving the vacuum created by Chavez’s illness that met fierce resistance from the opposition, which had argued it was unconstitutional.
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Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn or from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana, in the month of Poush in mid- January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India. The movement of the earth from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makar in Hindi, this occasion is named as Makar Sankranti in the Indian context.
It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals which are celebrated on a fixed date i.e. 14th January every year. Makar Sankranti, apart from a harvest festival is also regarded as the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian culture. It is said as the ‘holy phase of transition’. It marks the end of an inauspicious phase which according to the Hindu calendar begins around mid-December. It is believed that any auspicious and sacred ritual can be sanctified in any Hindu family, this day onwards.
Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights. In other words, Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season. All over the country, Makar Sankranti is observed with great fanfare. However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country. In the states of northern and western India, the festival is celebrated as the Sankranti day with special zeal and fervor. The importance of this day has been signified in the ancient epics like Mahabharata also. So, apart from socio-geographical importance, this day also holds a historical and religious significance. As, it is the festival of Sun God and he is regarded as the symbol divinity and wisdom, the festival also holds an eternal meaning to it.
History
It is a harvest festival which is basically celebrated in the Hindu communities. In Indian, the states of Bihar, Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu celebrate the festival with great fervor and gusto.In Tamil Nadu the festival is known as Pongal, in Assam as Bhogali Bihu, in Punjab, as Lohiri, in Gujarat and Rajasthan, as Uttararayan. Outside India, the festival is given due importance in the countries like Nepal where it is celebrated as Maghe Sakrati or Maghi, in Thailand where it is named as Songkran and in Myanmar where it is called Thingyan. The festival of Makar Sankranti marks the day when the sun begins its northward journey and enters the sign of Makar (the Capricorn) from the Tropic of Cancer.It is like the movement of sun from Dakshinayana (south) to Uttarayana (north) hemisphere. It is the one of the few chosen Indian Hindu festivals which has a fixed date. This day falls on the 14th of January every year according to the Hindu Solar Calendar. The festival is considered to be a day from where onwards all the auspicious ritualistic ceremonies can be solemnized in any Hindu family. This is thus considered as the holy phase of transition. Shankranti means transmigration of Sun from one zodiac in Indian astrology to the other. As per Hindu customary beliefs, there are 12 such Sankrantis in all. But the festival is celebrated only on the occasion of Makara Sankaranti i.e. the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius (‘Dhanu’ Rashi ) to Capricorn(‘Makara’ Rasi).
In this case, the zodiacs are measured sidereally, and not tropically, in order to account the Earth’s precession. That is why the festival falls about 21 days after the tropical winter solstice which lies between December 20 and 23rd. Here the sun marks the starting of Uttarayana, which means northern progress of Sun. Makar Sankranti holds special significance as on this day the solar calendar measures the day and night to be of equal durations on this day. From this day onwards, the days become longer and warmer.
It is the day when people of northern hemisphere, the northward path of the sun marks the period when the sun is getting closer to them. The importance of the day was signified by the Aryans who started celebrating this day as an auspicious day for festivities. The reason behind this may be the fact that it marked the onset of harvest season. Even in the epic of Mahabharata, an episode mentions how people in that era also considered the day as auspicious. Bhishma Pitamah even after being wounded in the Mahabharata war lingered on till Uttarayan set in, so that he can attain heavenly abode in auspiciuous times. It is said that death on this day to brings Moksha or salvation to the deceased.
Customs & Traditions
In Maharashtra, there is a custom of exchanging sweets made of jaggery, as the first sugarcane crop for the year is harvested during the period. According to a tradition, the Marathis wear black clothes, because they consider the black sesame as auspicious. Til Gul (Sesame- Jaggery sweet) is prepared and exchanged on the day. Flying kite is one of the popular Makar Sankranti traditions of Maharashtra.Colorful kites, made of different shapes and sizes, are also flown in Gujarat, as a part of the celebrations of Makar Sankranti. This is primarily because, the festival coincides with the International Kite Festival held at Ahmedabad (capital city of Gujarat), on January 14. Charity forms a significant part of the traditions of Makar Sankranti. In the state of Uttar Pradesh, one can witness people donating Khichdi (rice cooked with lentils) to the poor and needy. People in Andhra Pradesh also indulge themselves in charity of clothes.
Taking a holy dip on the day is considered auspicious and hence, it is a popular custom followed in Uttar Pradesh, where people flock the religious places in the state to take a ceremonious bath in holy River Ganga. It is believed that taking dip in holy rivers provides moksha (salvation) from all the sins done previously. Makar Sankranti is known as Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
There, it is a three-day festival, starting from January 13 until January 15. January 13 is celebrated as Bhogi, followed by Makara Pongal (Sankranti) and then culminated by Mattu Pongal on the next day. Similar tradition is seen in Andhra Pradesh, where the third day of Makar Sankranti is known as ‘Kanuma’. The customs followed in villages of India, on Makar Sankranti, have a unique charm. Varied festivities including singing and dancing mark the celebrations of the harvest festival. Courtyards and swept and sprinkled with a mixture of water and cow dung, while the homes are scrub-cleaned for the festival. People would make Rangoli or Kolam in their courtyard. The villagers extend their gratitude to Mother Nature for a good
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Army Calling The Shots In Pakistan Again?
ISLAMABAD (TIP): The Pakistani aggressors who killed Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies may have undermined one of the key factors underpinning the peace process. Pakistan lured India, deeply distrustful of its intent post-26/11, to the negotiation table by promising that the Pakistani Army was on the same page as the Zardari government on the restoration of normalcy in ties. The brutality on the Line of Control (LoC) raises doubts about the credibility of the promise, and prompt India to take a fresh look at its options. More so, because India was in any case expecting that Pakistan is likely to get more “assertive” in Jammu & Kashmir, which may be a direct consequence of the US-sponsored role the Pakistan Army believes it is playing to bring the Taliban into Afghan government in Kabul.
The latest Pakistani provocation, including beheading an Indian soldier during an infiltration bid in Kashmir, on Tuesday did not come as a huge surprise to the strategic leadership of this government. The brutality of the attack was unexpected and carried reminders of a similar attack by Ilyas Kashmiri over a decade ago. On the face of it, Pakistani government has really no proximate reason to escalate temperatures on their eastern flank. Their western flank remains under pressure of both Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, drone attacks and terrorism inside Pakistan have been on with unflinching regularity. There are no elections due any time soon, so there is really no reason to whip up nationalist sentiment inside Pakistan by invoking the India bogey. The Pakistani Army is in no particular danger from the civilians, in fact, quite the contrary.
All the reasons for Pakistan to concentrate on its western flank continue to hold. So why would Pakistan resort to this kind of provocation that could invite a sharper Indian response? But something has changed. The change actually started a few years ago. In the years since Pervez Kayani has taken over the reins of the Pakistan Army, infiltration into India has steadily increased. Nothing eye-popping, but the charts have kept ticking. India, desperate to maintain a show of peace and a modicum of normalcy, has routinely glossed over the increased numbers of terrorists being pushed in. Indian forces’ ability to intercept terrorists has also increased, which has resulted in less “incidents”. But the fact remains, infiltration has not stopped. Government sources had confirmed that last year saw the highest levels of infiltration in the past five years.
In recent weeks, Pakistan has been pulled out of the doldrums after suffering its worst couple of years with the US. Its renewed sense of importance lies in once again being identified as the key to peace in Afghanistan. With the US preparing to turn off the lights in Afghanistan by 2014 – some say, even this year – the concerted western effort there is to go the tried and tested way. The Pakistani Army is once again being given the keys to the peace effort in Afghanistan, by being asked to broker a deal with the Taliban, to bring them into the government. New Delhi has been very unhappy at the turn of events, because they reckon that the price would be paid by increased terrorism against India by Pakistan-supported elements. This week’s incident may just be the beginning of a difficult period.
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Kidnapped Sikh Man Beheaded In Pakistan’s Tribal Belt
ISLAMABAD (TIP): A militant group in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt beheaded a Sikh man kidnapped over a month ago after accusing him of acting as a “spy” for a rival outfit, media reports said. Mohinder Singh, 40, was kidnapped from his shop in Tabbai village of Khyber Agency by unidentified armed men on November 20. Singh was a seller of herbal medicines, a trade that is common among Sikhs in northwest Pakistan. Singh was beheaded January 8 and his body was mutilated before it was packed in a sack and dumped at Zakhakhel Bazaar in Khyber Agency, unnamed officials were quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. The officials said Tawheedul Islam, a militant group, had claimed responsibility for killing Singh. A note left with the body said Singh had been killed for spying for a rival militant group, the Lashkar-e-Islam. The body was identified by the slain man’s brother Daswant Singh.
He said his brother’s killing was a “cruel act” against members of the minority Sikh community. “We have no enmity with anyone and have lived peacefully in Khyber Agency for more than six decades,” he said. Daswant told The News daily that his family had earlier approached the Tauheedul Islam, a pro-government militia of Zakhakhel tribesmen, but it had claimed it did not know the whereabouts of Singh. “After we tried and used all tribal channels and sources for the recovery of my brother, we sent an application to Mutahir Zeb, Political Agent of the Khyber Agency, on December 13 to seek his support,” Daswant said. The official had reportedly assured the family that Singh would be recovered within a week, he said. Daswant said his brother was diabetic and had been survived by his wife and nine children, including a polio-affected son. He demanded that the government should protect minorities and pay compensation to the family.
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Lohri The Bonfire Festival
A midst the freezing cold weather, with the temperature wobbling between 0-5 degrees Celsius and the dense fog outside, everything seems stagnant in the northern part of India. However, below the apparently frozen surface, you would be amazed to find a palpable wave of activity going on. People, especially in the northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and parts of Himachal Pradesh, are busy making preparations for Lohri — the long-awaited bonfire festival — when they can come out of their homes and celebrate the harvesting of the Rabi (winter) crops and give in to relaxing and enjoying the traditional folk songs and dances.
Significance
In Punjab, the breadbasket of India, wheat is the main winter crop, which is sown in October and harvested in March or April. In January, the fields come up with the promise of a golden harvest, and farmers celebrate Lohri during this rest period before the cutting and gathering of crops.According to the Hindu calendar, Lohri falls in mid-January. The earth, farthest from the sun at this point of time, starts its journey towards the sun, thus ending the coldest month of the year, Paush, and announcing the start of the month of Magh and the auspicious period of Uttarayan. According to the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna manifests himself in his full magnificence during this time. The Hindus ‘nullify’ their sins by bathing in the Ganges.
Customs & Legends In the morning on Lohri day, children go from door to door singing and demanding the Lohri ‘loot’ in the form of money and eatables like til (sesame) seeds, peanuts, jaggery, or sweets like gajak, rewri, etc. They sing in praise of Dulha Bhatti, a Punjabi avatar of Robin Hood who robbed the rich to help the poor, and once helped a miserable village girl out of her misery by getting her married off like his own sister.
The Bonfire Ritual
In the evening, with the setting of the sun, huge bonfires are lit in the harvested fields and in the front yards of houses and people gather around the rising flames, circle around (parikrama) the bonfire and throw puffed rice, popcorn and other munchies into the fire, shouting “Aadar aye dilather jaye” (May honor come and poverty vanish!), and sing popular folk songs. This is a sort of prayer to Agni, the fire god, to bless the land with abundance and prosperity. After the parikrama, people meet friends and relatives, exchange greetings and gifts, and distribute prasad (offerings made to god). The prasad comprises five main items: til, gajak, jaggery, peanuts, and popcorn. Winter savories are served around the bonfire with the traditional dinner of makki-di-roti (multi-millet hand-rolled bread) and sarsonda- saag (cooked mustard herbs).Song & Dance
Bhangra dance by men begins after the offering to the bonfire. Dancing continues till late night with new groups joining in amid the beat of drums. Traditionally, women do not join Bhangra. They hold a separate bonfire in their courtyard orbiting it with the graceful gidda dance.The ‘Maghi’ Day
The day following Lohri is called ‘Maghi’, signifying the beginning of the month of Magh. According to Hindu beliefs, this is an auspicious day to take a holy dip in the river and give away charity.Sweet dishes (usually kheer) are prepared with sugar cane juice to mark the day.Exhibition of Exhuberance Lohri
is more than just a festival, especially for the people of Punjab. Punjabis are a funloving, sturdy, robust, energetic, enthusiastic and jovial race, and Lohri is symbolic of their love for celebrations and light-hearted flirtations and exhibition of exuberance.A Celebration of Fertility Lohri
celebrates fertility and the joy of life, and in the event of the birth of a male child or a marriage in the family, it assumes a larger significance wherein the host family arranges for a feast and merry-making with the traditional bhangra dance along with rhythm instruments, like the dhol and the gidda. The first Lohri of a new bride or a newborn baby is considered extremely important.Thanksgiving & Get-together!
Nowadays, Lohri brings in an opportunity for people in the community to take a break from their busy schedule and get together to share each other’s company. In other parts of India, Lohri almost coincides with the festivals of Pongal, Makar Sankranti, and Uttarayan all of which communicate the same message of oneness and celebrates the spirit of brotherhood, while thanking the Almighty for a bountiful life on earth. -
India-US Economic Ties Not Realized: US Think Tank
WASHINGTON (TIP): The full potential of India-US economic relationship is far from being realized, chiefly due to the actions and inactions of the two governments, according to a US think tank. “Progress will be faster and broader if the focus on government-to-government negotiations is replaced with an emphasis on cooperation at the level of individual companies and states,” suggests the report by the Asian Studies Centre of The Heritage Foundation. Much of the hope for progress on India-US economic issues has been put on the prospects and scope of a bilateral investment treaty (BIT), it says in the first part of the report on “Unleashing the Market in the India-US Economic Relationship”. “A BIT may be useful,” the report said. “But only a high-quality BIT-which includes sensitive topics, such as mining and intellectual property rights-can achieve the necessary progress on these and other critical bilateral economic issues.”
Current government-to-government talks are nowhere close to realizing such a BIT and the historical record indicates that a high-quality BIT is unlikely in the near future, the Heritage report said. “Even if a sound BIT is eventually achieved, progress should not wait. There is much to be gained for India and the US in the interim,” it said. In investment, individual US states should be more active in marketing to Indian companies, the report said. It suggested that “it would be helpful if the Indian government were to remove various restrictions on multinational corporations”. “Even if that does not occur, Indian states can greatly improve their local investment climates,” it said.
As mining in particular is largely a state matter in India, American companies can assist the process by demonstrating their record in environmental protection and social remediation of mined areas, it said. In labor, American companies and universities should prod the federal government to roll back recent increases in visa fees and effective reduction in visa quotas, the report suggested. Indian firms should enhance credibility by doing a better job of self-policing, and New Delhi should look at its own restrictions on foreign labor. Noting that in intellectual property, international negotiations have led to progress and enforcement is the most pressing issue, it said: “For that, Indian states are well positioned.”
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Obama Cabinet Shuffle Takes Shape Amid Concerns About Diversity In Obama’s Inner Circle
WASHINGTON (TIP): The composition of President Barack Obama’s second term Cabinet became clearer on January 9, with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis resigning and three other members of the president’s team deciding to stay on amid concerns about diversity in Obama’s inner circle. Solis, a former California congresswoman and one of the highestranking Hispanics in the Cabinet, said she was departing after leading the department during the economic storms of the first term. She was the nation’s first Hispanic labor secretary. A White House official said three Cabinet members: Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki: would stay on as the second term begins.
It would ensure diversity among the president’s leadership team: Holder is black, Sebelius is a woman and Shinseki is of Japanese-American descent. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel changes, said the three remaining officials were not an exhaustive list of which Cabinet members intended to stay. Some Democratic women have raised concerns that the “big three” jobs in the Cabinet State, Defense and Treasury will be taken by white men. Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts has been tapped as the next secretary of state; former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican, was picked to run the Pentagon and White House chief of staff Jack Lew is expected to be named treasury secretary later this week.
The White House is expected to announce more members of Obama’s Cabinet in the coming weeks, giving the president a chance to present a team that reflects the diverse coalition of women, Hispanics and minorities that helped give him a second term. Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a close friend of the president, removed her name from consideration for the State Department last month following criticism from Republicans over her initial comments about the attacks on Americans in Libya. Several female House Democrats said the criticism of Rice, who is black, was indicative of sexism and racism.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said last month she is stepping down after nearly four years as the administration’s chief environmental watchdog. No replacement has been named, although several names are reportedly under consideration, including Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Jackson’s deputy, Bob Perciasepe. Gregoire is a longtime Obama ally who is leaving office next week after two terms, while Perciasepe is slated to take over as acting EPA administrator after Jackson leaves, expected in the next few weeks. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, meanwhile, is expected to leave sometime after the inauguration, while Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s plans are unknown. Contenders to replace Chu include former North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Gregoire.
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UN Urges India, Pak To De-Escalate Tensions Through Dialogue
UNITED NATIONS (TIP): The UN has urged India and Pakistan to respect the ceasefire and “de-escalate” tensions over the recent cross-border firings through dialogue. The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) made the plea even as it received a complaint from Pakistan which claimed that Indian troops had allegedly crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and “raided” a border post on January 6. India has denied it has crossed the LoC. “UNMOGIP is aware that the Pakistan Army and Indian Army are in contact via the Hotline and urges both sides to respect the ceasefire and de-escalate tensions through dialogue,” the UN observer force said in an emailed statement to . The ceasefire has been in place along the LoC since 2003.
However, “no official complaint has been received either from the Pakistan Army or Indian Army” regarding the January 8 clash in which two Indian soldiers were killed, it said. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said at the daily briefing yesterday that the UN observer mission had not received any complaint from either side over the January 8 clashes. “Regarding the 6 January alleged incident, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, or UNMOGIP, has received an official complaint from the Pakistan Army and will conduct an investigation as soon as possible in accordance with its mandate,” the observer group added. An UNMOGIP official did not provide further details of the complaint, saying that the mission “is not in position to distribute communications between member states and the UN.”
The Pakistani mission to the UN did not respond to queries from seeking comment on the complaint to UNMOGIP. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after two Indian soldiers Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and Lance Naik Hemraj were brutally killed by Pakistani troops on January 8, which India has described as “highly provocative.” The attack took place along the LoC in Poonch district when the Pakistani troops entered into Indian territory and assaulted a patrol party. The bodies of the two Indian soldiers were mutilated by Pakistani troops. UNMOGIP observers have been located at the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir since 1949 and supervise the ceasefire between the two countries. Currently there are 39 military observers in Kashmir, 25 international civilian personnel and 48 local civilian staff.
Outraged over the attack, India summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi Salman Bashir yesterday and lodged a strong protest against the “highly provocative” attack in its territory and described as “extremely distressing” and “inhuman” the mutilation of bodies of the two soldiers. India has denied crossing the LoC on January 6 and said the Pakistan army started firing mortar shells towards its posts with some of the shells landing close to civilian habitation. It has said that Pakistani troops commenced “unprovoked firing on Indian troops” in the early hours of January 6. A civilian house was damaged in the firing and Indian troops then undertook “controlled retaliation” in response. Pakistan is currently holding the rotating Presidency of the UN Security Council. It will complete its two-year term at the 15-nation body this year end. India’s two years at the Council as a non-permanent member ended in December.
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US May Leave No Troops In Afghanistan: Officials
WASHINGTON (TIP): The Obama administration gave the first explicit signal that it might leave no troops in Afghanistan after December 2014, an option that defies the Pentagon’s view that thousands of troops may be needed to contain al-Qaida and to strengthen Afghan forces. The issues will be central to talks this week as Afghan President Hamid Karzai meets with President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to discuss ways of framing an enduring partnership beyond 2014.
“The US does not have an inherent objective of ‘X’ number of troops in Afghanistan,” said Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser. “We have an objective of making sure there is no safe haven for al-Qaida in Afghanistan and making sure that the Afghan government has a security force that is sufficient to ensure the stability of the Afghan government.” The US now has 66,000 troops in Afghanistan, down from a peak of about 100,000 as recently as 2010. The US and its NATO allies agreed in November 2010 that they would withdraw all their combat troops by the end of 2014, but they have yet to decide what future missions will be necessary and how many troops they would require.
At stake is the risk of Afghanistan’s collapse and a return to the chaos of the 1990s that enabled the Taliban to seize power and provide a haven for Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network. Fewer than 100 al-Qaida fighters are believed to remain in Afghanistan, although a larger number are just across the border in Pakistani sanctuaries. Panetta has said he foresees a need for a US counterterrorism force in Afghanistan beyond 2014, plus a contingent to train Afghan forces. He is believed to favor an option that would keep about 9,000 troops in the country. Administration officials in recent days have said they are considering a range of options for a residual US troop presence of as few as 3,000 and as many as 15,000, with the number linked to a specific set of military-related missions like hunting down terrorists.
Asked in a conference call with reporters whether zero was now an option, Rhodes said, “That would be an option we would consider.” Karzai is scheduled to meet Thursday with Panetta at the Pentagon and with secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton at the State Department. Karzai and Obama are at odds on numerous issues, including a US demand that any American troops who would remain in Afghanistan after the combat mission ends be granted immunity from prosecution under Afghan law. Karzai has resisted, while emphasizing his need for large-scale US support to maintain an effective security force after 2014. In announcing last month in Kabul that he had accepted Obama’s invitation to visit this week, Karzai made plain his objectives. “Give us a good army, a good air force and a capability to project Afghan interests in the region,” Karzai said, and he would gladly reciprocate by easing the path to legal immunity for US troops.
Without explicitly mentioning immunity for US troops, Obama’s top White House military adviser on Afghanistan, Doug Lute, told reporters Tuesday that the Afghans will have to give the US certain “authorities” if it wants US troops to remain. “As we know from our Iraq experience, if there are no authorities granted by the sovereign state, then there’s not room for a follow-on US military mission,” Lute said. He was referring to 2011 negotiations with Iraq that ended with no agreement to grant legal immunity to US troops who would have stayed to help train Iraqi forces. As a result, no US troops remain in Iraq. David Barno, a former commander of US forces in Afghanistan and now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, wrote earlier this week that vigorous debate has been under way inside the administration on a “minimalist approach” for post-2014 Afghanistan.
In an opinion piece for ForeignPolicy.com on Monday, Barno said the “zero option” was less than optimal but “not necessarily an untenable one.” Without what he called the stabilizing influence of US troops, Barno cautioned that Afghanistan could “slip back into chaos.” Rhodes said Obama is focused on two main outcomes in Afghanistan: ensuring that the country does not revert to being the al-Qaida haven it was prior to September 11, 2001, and getting the government to the point where it can defend itself. “That’s what guides us, and that’s what causes us to look for different potential troop numbers – or not having potential troops in the country,” Rhodes said.
He predicted that Obama and Karzai would come to no concrete conclusions on international military missions in Afghanistan beyond 2014, and he said it likely would be months before Obama decides how many US troops – if any – he wants to keep there. Rhodes said Obama remains committed to further reducing the US military presence this year, although the pace of that withdrawal will not be decided for a few months. Last year the U.S. military pulled 23,000 troops out of Afghanistan on Obama’s orders.
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Ind Vs Eng: England Off To A Steady Start Against India In 1st Odi
NEW DELHI (TIP): Making full use of excellent batting conditions, openers Alastair Cook and Ian Bell brought up England’s fifty in the tenth over in the first one-day international against India at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Friday. The steady start came after England captain Cook won the toss and chose to bat. After winning the toss, Cook said that the young squad has a good opportunity to play some international cricket and do well for the country. Joe Root makes his ODI debut For England.
After losing the toss, Dhoni said that he would have batted first as well. There is just one change in the Indian side from their last game against Pakistan. Shami Ahmed makes way for Ashok Dinda. Giving the pitch report, Ravi Shastri reckoned that the surface is a ‘proper national highway’. There will be something in it for the bowlers just for the first few overs and post that it will be a flat wicket, making life easy for the batsmen. The outfield is also pretty quick.
India would look to somewhat settle a score after the Test debacle against the Englishmen and have history at their side as England has not won an ODI in their last 13 attempts in India, with 12 defeats and one tie which was the 2011 World Cup match in Bangalore. England’s last win over India in India was in Jamshedpur on April 12, 2006. However, while history does favour the hosts, they have their problems in the present.
The opening conundrum is one of them. In the last 10 ODI innings, India have tried three different pairs, with even Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir opening in three games, but the first wicket mark has never crossed 50 with the scores reading 19, 25, 0, 7, 31, 8, 29, 17, 42 and 19. One factor which might work in India’s favour is that they are coming from a high-pressure series against Pakistan while England are coming from a break. England’s bowling attack, without the presence of several key Test bowlers, appears inexperienced and could be just the tonic needed by the bruised Indian batting line-up to get back into the groove.
Teams:
India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda.England:
Alastair Cook (Capt.), Ian Bell, Joe Root, Kevin Petersen, Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter, Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, James Tredwell, Steven Finn,Jade Dernbach. -
Indian Soldiers Beheaded By Pakistani Troops
JAMMU (TIP): The fragile peace between India and Pakistan is once again under threat after two Indian soldiers were killed and ‘mutilated’ during fresh clashes at the Kashmir border. India claims Pakistani troops crossed into their territory on January 8 and attacked Indian soldiers patrolling in the Mendhar region before retreating. The government said the bodies of the two killed soldiers were ‘subjected to barbaric and inhuman mutilation’ while a senior army officer disclosed that they had been decapitated.
Pakistan alleged that Indian troops crossed the cease-fire line in Sunday’s attack. Both sides have denied crossing into the other’s territory. Both India and Pakistan claim the largely Muslim territory of Kashmir but it remains divided between them along a Line of Control (LoC). The countries, both nuclear powers, have fought two wars over the Himalayan area but a cease-fire has largely held for a decade. India summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi to formally complain about the latest clash. The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that Pakistan has been asked to ‘immediately investigate these actions that are in contravention of all norms of international conduct and ensure that these do not recur.’ The defence minister described the incident as ‘highly provocative’ but a foreign minister sought to play it down.
‘I think it is important in the long term that what has happened should not be escalated,’ said Salman Khurshid. ‘We cannot and must not allow the escalation of any unwholesome event like this.’ ‘We have to be careful that forces attempting to derail all the good work that’s been done towards normalization (of relations) should not be successful.’ Firing and small skirmishes are common along the 460-mile LoC despite the ceasefire and improving relations. The Indian army says eight of its soldiers were killed in 2012, in 75 incidents. Away from the border, however, ties have appeared to be improving. Pakistan’s cricket team completed a two-week tour of India on Sunday, the first time it has visited in five years.
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Saina Nehwal lone Indian to make quarters at Korean Open
HYDERABAD (TIP): With the second round exit of Parupalli Kashyap and PV Sindhu, it was left to Saina Nehwal to carry the Indian hopes at the Korea Open Super Series Premier in Seoul on Thursday. The Olympic bronze medalist made short work ((21- 16, 21-9) of Singapore’s Mingtian Fu to set up a quarterfinal clash against upcoming Chinese shuttler Han Li on Friday. Saina defeated Li twice last year. With the withdrawal of top seed Li Xuerui and second seed Wang Yihan, Saina, who is seeded third, has emerged as the title favourite.
However, with the presence of few other players like former All England champion Shixian Wang of China and youngster Minatsu Mitani of Japan, the field is quite strong at Seoul. Sindhu lost to Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 19-21, 13-21, her first loss against the Thai girl in three meetings. Men’s singles shuttler Kashyap went down fighting against Hu Yun of Hong Kong 21-16, 13-21, 17-21. Kashyap started on a strong note winning the first game before Yun began to trouble him at the net. Kashyap is world No. 11 Kashyap rose to a careerbest ranking of world number 11 in the latest rankings. P V Sindhu, also jumped two places to reach career-best ranking of number 17, while Saina retained her third rank.
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Dhoni should give up IPL, T20 captaincy: Rahul Dravid
NEW DELHI (TIP): Former India skipper Rahul Dravid believes MS Dhoni, while still the best man to lead the country in Tests, needs to change the way he captains if he is to turn around India’s fortunes. Acknowledging the team’s poor run and the fact that the captain is under “enormous pressure”, Dravid wrote in his column for a website. “What it (a turnaround) will require from him (Dhoni) is a change in the way he captains, a recognition that he can’t do everything all the time, and the willingness to ask for and accept help.” Dravid believes there are no alternatives to Dhoni as Test captain, so he must give up the captaincy in T20s and pick and choose ODI assignments . “There’s a lot of talk of split captaincy these days. It won’t be a bad model for India to adopt, if only to keep Dhoni fresh as Test captain,” Dravid wrote. “Dhoni has got to recognize that he can’t continue to captain and play all the time, because it is making him stale. The pressure of international cricket is huge — it lends itself to a lot of fatigue — and Dhoni has been in the job a long time now. “To start with, Dhoni could easily give up the India T20 and Chennai Super Kings captaincies . He should certainly play ODIs and T20s for India, because he is invaluable to the side. Giving up a couple of captaincy roles might give him more time in the main India job and the freshness to keep doing it. “It would also give India an opportunity to perhaps give someone like (Virat) Kohli a chance to be T20 captain, break him into the job and see how he goes.
There is another option for Dhoni as well, which he has resorted to in the past: to miss the odd ODI series and prepare himself for the big competitions.” Dravid also says Dhoni must change his captaincy style to suit the changing requirements of the team. “He must also recognize that he needs to change a very successful leadership style — almost change direction — because the team is changing. ” Dravid suggests that unlike in the past, when he had experienced batsmen and bowlers to aid his “instinct” and “gut feel”, Dhoni must adopt a more hands-on approach to the Test captaincy. “He led on instinct and gut feel, and it worked brilliantly for him. Now Dhoni is captaining a team with young guys, who need more communication and guidance.
One of the criticisms directed at Dhoni has been that there is very little communication about plans and roles either. “He is not one for bowling plans and bowlers’ meetings. When you have senior bowlers like Zaheer, Kumble and Harbhajan, the captain need not worry about all that because the bowlers know what to do. The younger bowlers coming in now, like Ashwin and Ojha, need to know what the plan is…they need to discuss strategy and planning well before they go on to the field.” Given the series of overseas tours in the coming years, Dravid says, “I don’t think anybody expects him (Dhoni) to have great success in the immediate future. People recognize that this is a period of transition and that there are going to be tough days.
What they need to know, though, is that the way forward has been clearly mapped. If Dhoni wants to lead India, the job is going to demand a lot more energy and involvement. He is the man for it at the moment, if he can find that second wind.” On why there are no alternatives for Dhoni as Test skipper, Dravid says, “At one point we felt Gautam Gambhir could take over the job…yet what goes against him today is the fact that he has not scored too many Test runs in the last three years, and he averages under 32. Virat Kohli is the only other alternative leader, and he ticks the box of being an automatic selection in all three formats. Yet I believe it’s a little early for him.”