Australia slams 'extremist' PETA for sheep abuse video

SYDNEY: Australia's agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce has described animal rights group PETA as "extremist" and questioned their methods after the release of footage showing sheep being beaten by shearers.

Joyce said Australia "does not condone the mistreatment of animals" but added that the violence shown in the PETA video should have been reported immediately.

"An emotional response without full investigation, including why it has taken so long for PETA to release the footage, does not result in better husbandry practices," Joyce said in a statement late Friday.

"It just reinforces the belief that PETA is an extremist group that wants to end livestock production and to irreparably damage the economy and the reputation of Australian farmers."

Australia is the world's leading wool producer and exporter, with annual exports valued at more than Aus$3 billion ($2.8 billion).

The video released on Thursday showed shearers beating and throwing the animals, stamping on their necks and stitching wounds apparently without anaesthetic.

Joyce's criticism comes amid a push in Australia for the adoption of "ag gag" laws, already in practice in the US.

Such laws would make it illegal for activists to film in secret on a farm and then broadcast the images without alerting authorities.

PETA said its decision to collect the footage over several months came from previous experience that a "strong case for authorities" was needed or "officials will be left with their hands tied".

The video clips were reportedly filmed at 19 contractor-run sheep shearing sheds in Australia between October 2013 and February 2014.

"In this instance, PETA US had to show how repetitive and routine the abuse of sheep was, and that it happened as a matter of course in one shearing shed after another," PETA Australia's campaigns director Jason Baker said in a statement to AFP Saturday.

Baker said it "seems disingenuous" Joyce was questioning PETA's methods rather than asking why the shearers were allowed to hurt the sheep.

The group has said it would not reveal where the footage was taken to protect its investigators.

The RSPCA charity is investigating the footage for potential breaches of Australian animal welfare legislation.

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4 kidnapped in Assam’s Baksa district, indefinite curfew imposed

GUWAHATI: Four people, including two boys, were allegedly kidnapped by suspected NDFB (Songbijit) insurgents in Assam's Baksa district, following which a massive search was launched and indefinite curfew imposed.

The four victims, part of a group of lemon traders, went to Labdanguri market in Salbari sub-division from adjacent Barpeta district on Friday evening but did not return.

"It is suspected that they have been kidnapped by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) militants," Baksa additional deputy commissioner Bhawani Prasad Sharma said.

Following this, indefinite curfew was clamped in Salbari. "Indefinite curfew has been imposed in Salbari sub-division under Gobardhana police station," Sharma said.

"Police and CRPF jawans are conducting a massive search to rescue the four. The Army has also been called in and kept on standby to deal with any untoward situation in the district," Baksa deputy commissioner Vinod Seshan said.

Seshan said four cycles and sandals were found from a nearby area.

The four missing people have been identified as — Bakar Ali (13), Saddam Ali (13), Ataur Rahman (27) and Rahul Amin (45), he said.

In May this year, 50 people were killed in Baksa and Kokrajhar districts of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts by suspected Bodoland Peoples Front-supported insurgents.

NIA and the state government were making separate investigations into it.

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UK PM to carry our major cabinet reshuffle to include more women

LONDON: During a trip to India in February 2013, British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted he had not appointed enough women to his Cabinet.

Now, over a year later, Cameron who said that his wife urges him to promote female talent is all set to rectify the mistake.

The PM is preparing to carry out a major reshuffle of his government - the final before the next big general election in 2015.

Sources in Whitehall say that the new team that he will lead in to the election will include a major number of women.

The big three, foreign secretary William Hague, finance secretary George Osborne and home secretary Theresa May will remain.

Cameron has long been criticized because only four full members of his Cabinet are women. Before the last election, he had however pledged to make sure one third of all his ministers are female, a target he has failed to match.

Cameron who is now expected to give ministerial berths to Liz Truss, Nicky Morgan, Amber Rudd and Penny Mordaunt.

PIO MP Priti Patel who was recently-appointed the UK Indian diaspora Champion by the PM is also expected to get inducted into the Cabinet.

In a conversation with Unilever employees in Mumbai last year, Cameron said that governments and big companies must do much more to encourage and promote women.

Cameron said "there aren't enough women around the Cabinet table. Organisations like the Conservative Party should be making more active efforts to seek more female recruits and then promote them. It isn't enough to open up and say you will treat everyone equally. You have to actively go out and encourage women to get involved. There are 47 female Conservative MPs, from a total of 302".

He had added "My wife likes to say that if you don't have women in 50% of top positions, you are missing out on more than 50% of the talent and I think she's right".

Lack of women in Cabinet and government is a global trend.

Globally, the percentage of women ministers improved by just over 2% in eight years time - from 14.2% in 2005 to 16.7% in 2012.

United Nations Millennium Development Goal analysis shows that by the end-January 2012, women accounted for 19.7% cent of parliamentarians worldwide - a 75% increase since 1995, when women held 11.3% of seats worldwide, and a 44% increase over the 2000 level.

UN said that while trends point to an increase in women's parliamentary representation, the rate of representation remains low overall, and progress is spread unevenly.

In India for example, in a 11-year period between 1991 and 2012 their presence has gone up marginally from 9.7% to 10.96%.

The highest level is found in the Nordic countries, especially following recent gains in Denmark and Finland.

Across the world, the most common ministerial portfolios held by women ministers have tended to be in social affairs, family and youth, women's affairs or education.

This remains largely the case, although in 2012 employment and labour emerged as the fourth most common ministerial portfolio held by women.

In Asia, women made gains in only one country — Thailand — in 2011 elections.

Sub-Saharan Africa holds the second-highest regional ranking in women's representation in parliaments, 20%.

Recent elections in Egypt saw a drop in the percentage of women parliamentarians from 12.7% to just below 2%. Only 10 women out of 508 members now hold parliamentary seats in Egypt.

More than a third of the countries with 30% or more women MPs are in transition from conflict. In the "Arab Spring" countries, opportunities opening up to ensure more women are voted into parliament have not been used to the full so far.

Forty-nine chambers achieved 30% or greater female membership, up from 41 in 2010 and a seven-fold increase over 1995.

Women also made some progress in obtaining top positions in parliament. In January 2012, women held 41 of the 271 speaker posts, just 15.1%.

This compared with 24 women in such posts in 1995. Parliaments that have a woman speaker for the first time ever include Portugal, Uganda, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Russian Federation.

Of the 59 countries that held elections in 2011 for lower or single houses, 26 had implemented special measures favouring women, and electoral quotas were used in 17. Where quotas were used, women took 27.4% of seats, as opposed to 15.7% of seats in countries without any form of quota.

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At least three injured in Istanbul gas explosion: Governor

ISTANBUL: At least three people were injured, one critically, in a gas explosion at a packaging workshop in Istanbul on Saturday, city governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said.

The accident was caused by either a gas leak or an exploding gas canister, he said, ruling out the possibility of a terrorist attack.

Television images showed heavy smoke coming out of the lowest floor of a building while injured people were carried on stretchers to ambulances.

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Aid-starved, drought-hit farmers protest in Vidarbha

NAGPUR: Nearly 1,000 farmers, including many women, staged a day's hunger strike and sit-in protest demanding minimum support price for cotton and waiver of farm loans in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, an NGO leader said here on Saturday.

The protest at Yavatmal came in the wake of rains eluding the Vidarbha region where farmers had sowed cotton and soyabean twice and many were now resorting to a third sowing, incurring heavy debts.

According to NGO Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) chief Kishore Tiwari, over 800,000 farmers in the region have become victims of little or no rain as the cotton sowing season is in full swing.

"They sowed seeds bought from loans early June. But after the crop rotted without rains, many again availed loans for a second sowing late June, which met the same fate. Some are now going for a third sowing, hoping rains will revive in July, but so far the sky is clear," Tiwari told IANS.

Lack of rainfall has destroyed the cotton and soyabean seeds sown in over two million hectares in farmlands across Vidarbha, even as the spectre of drought looms large, he said.

Seeking fresh credit facilities, food, health and education security, and a halt to the ongoing import of cheap cotton into the country, the farmers' meeting Saturday warned of a sustained agitation and indefinite hunger strike outside the collectorate from Aug 1 if their demands were not met.

A drought-like situation, lack of credit facilities, failure of the monsoon and other factors are forcing farmers in the state, especially Vidarbha, to commit suicide, Tiwari said.

Last year, Maharashtra topped the list of farmland suicides with a whopping 3,146 deaths. There have been 60,768 farmers' suicides in the state since 1995, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau report.

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11,100 files destroyed on Modi's direction to week out irrelevant files, Rajya Sabha told

NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that it had destroyed no more than 11,100 files, and not 1.5 lakh files as alleged, in deference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions asking all government departments to weed out irrelevant and outdated files. None of the files destroyed between June 5 and July 8 related to important historical events such as Mahatma Gandhi's assassination or Lord Mountbatten's return journey to England, as claimed by a section of the media.

In fact, around 52 files and 67 sets of exhibits, containing 11,186 pages, relating to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi's murder are in safe custody of National Archives of India, Union home minister Rajnath Singh informed the Elders.

On Wednesday, CPM MP P Rajeeve had raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha, citing media reports that as many as 1.5 lakh home ministry files had been destroyed since the cabinet secretary asked government departments to weed out unwanted files and papers. These, he alleged, included files relating to return journey of Lord Mountbatten to England in the early Fifties and foregoing of pension/salary by President Rajendra Prasad and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

"I would like to know why this decision was taken in a hurry," said Rajeeve, seeking a reply from the Prime Minister. He even wondered if it was an attempt to destroy records regarding the alleged involvement of some Hindutva elements in Gandhi's assassination.

The cabinet secretary's instructions asking government departments to weed out files followed a meeting taken by Prime Minister Modi on June 4 with all secretaries, where he stressed upon improving the work culture and work environment, including hygiene and cleanliness of the work space.

"In accordance with the instructions mentioned above, the files lying in different sections of the ministry of home affairs were reviewed and a total of 11,100 files were destroyed during the period 05.06.2014 to 08.07.2014," Singh told the Rajya Sabha in his statement.

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11,100 files destroyed on Modi's direction to weed out irrelevant files, Rajya Sabha told

NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that it had destroyed no more than 11,100 files, and not 1.5 lakh files as alleged, in deference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions asking all government departments to weed out irrelevant and outdated files. None of the files destroyed between June 5 and July 8 related to important historical events such as Mahatma Gandhi's assassination or Lord Mountbatten's return journey to England, as claimed by a section of the media.

In fact, around 52 files and 67 sets of exhibits, containing 11,186 pages, relating to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi's murder are in safe custody of National Archives of India, Union home minister Rajnath Singh informed the Elders.

On Wednesday, CPM MP P Rajeeve had raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha, citing media reports that as many as 1.5 lakh home ministry files had been destroyed since the cabinet secretary asked government departments to weed out unwanted files and papers. These, he alleged, included files relating to return journey of Lord Mountbatten to England in the early Fifties and foregoing of pension/salary by President Rajendra Prasad and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

"I would like to know why this decision was taken in a hurry," said Rajeeve, seeking a reply from the Prime Minister. He even wondered if it was an attempt to destroy records regarding the alleged involvement of some Hindutva elements in Gandhi's assassination.

The cabinet secretary's instructions asking government departments to weed out files followed a meeting taken by Prime Minister Modi on June 4 with all secretaries, where he stressed upon improving the work culture and work environment, including hygiene and cleanliness of the work space.

"In accordance with the instructions mentioned above, the files lying in different sections of the ministry of home affairs were reviewed and a total of 11,100 files were destroyed during the period 05.06.2014 to 08.07.2014," Singh told the Rajya Sabha in his statement.

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Bombay adjourns Nitesh Rane's quashing plea to July 24

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday heard at some length a quashing plea filed by cabinet minister Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane against a 2010 shootout case he is accused in.

The HC however adjourned the matter after Goldie Sood said he wanted to intervene in the matter to oppose Rane's plea. Rane came to court after a magistrate rejected the second closure report of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the September 2010 case. Nitesh is accused of shooting at a person who heads an NGO.

Mahesh Jethmalani, counsel for Rane questioned the June 10 rejection of the closure report in the face of lack of evidence. The complaint was politically motivated his plea said and at the last hearing he said that the complainant wished to settle the matter.

Shamim Shaikh alias Chintu president of the transport wing of Nitesh's Swabhimaan Sanghatana, had filed the criminal complaint. On his plea the HC had in 2011 transferred the inquiry to the CBI. In August last year the magistrate rejected the first closure report.

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Graduate education made free for girls in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: In a major decision that would benefit nearly one lakh girls in the state, the Chhattisgarh government has made graduate education free for them in all public colleges and technical institutes.

The decision, which was part of the BJP's 2013 election manifesto, would be implemented from the current academic year. It's like to cost the exchequer crores of rupees.

Talking to TOI, BL Agarwal, secretary higher education, said 208 government colleges across the state would offer free education to girls from now on and the state would bear its expenditure. He said the entire tuition fee will be waived off. An estimated 80,000 girls are presently enrolled in the colleges.

Amit Agarwal, secretary, technical education said that three government engineering colleges in the state, would also implement the decision. Presently about 700 girls will be benefited.

According to officials, a student spends about Rs 1000-1500 on graduation in college every year. This fee in engineering colleges runs upto Rs 18000. With free education for the girls, their families would save Rs 3000-4500 in three years duration for graduation and Rs 54000 in engineering college.

The move is aimed to promote girl education and is tune with the Modi government's slogan of "Beti bacchao, beti pardhao".

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National Cadet Corps gets 2000 people to pledge their eyes by November

KOLKATA: National Cadet Corps (NCC) volunteers of the West Bengal and Sikkim Directorate have succeeded in getting 2,127 people to pledge their eyes over the last ten days. It is now their aim to motivate 100,000 people to pledge their eyes by NCC Day in November. This will be a record of sorts.

This plan was revealed by Major General Shyam Srivastava, additional director general, NCC, West Bengal and Sikkim Directorate, at a ceremony on Friday that was attended by NCC director general Lt Gen Aniruddha Chakravarty. The DG is on a maiden visit to this directorate and also visited IIT, Kharagpur, a couple of days ago where an advanced training course was being organized for cadets who wish to appear for civil services and other competitive examinations.

Lt Gen Chakravarty lauded the efforts of the NCC is the state and said that pledging of eyes is the ultimate donation that a person can make as it helps a visually challenged person see the world. Among those who pledged their eyes were the cadets, their family members and people at large. A cultural programme was organized by visually challenged youth from the Bhartendu Andh Ashram during the day. A presentation was also made to clear the myths associated with eye donation.

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Don't send kids over border: Obama to Central American parents

DALLAS: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned parents in Central America not to send their children alone on a perilous journey through Mexico to illegally cross the US border.

Obama also called on Congress to stop playing politics and to work with him to pass his request for $3.7 billion in emergency funding to deal with the building immigration crisis.

"Parents need to know this is an incredibly dangerous situation, and it is unlikely that their children will be able to stay," Obama said, referring to a flow of 57,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America who have crossed the southwestern US frontier since October.

"I've asked parents across Central America not to put their children in harm's way in this fashion."

Obama was speaking in Dallas, Texas, after a meeting with Texas's Republican governor Rick Perry, local officials and faith leaders to discuss the crisis.

The president also demanded that Congress quickly pass the emergency funding bill to tighten border surveillance and enforcement and to surge customs and legal resources to the border area to speed up deportations of illegal immigrants and to consider asylum cases.

"Is Congress prepared to act to put the resources in place to get this done?" Obama said.

"Are folks more interested in politics, or are they more interested in solving the problem?

"If the preference is for politics, then it won't be solved," said Obama.

The president's request for more money has not gone down well with Republicans in Congress, who say that his plan is more geared to dealing with illegal minors already in the country rather than stopping the flow of new illegal entries.a

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Gujarat CM congratulates Amit Shah for becoming BJP national president

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel congratulated Amit Shah, sitting MLA from Naranpura assembly constituency in Ahmedabad city and former Gujarat minister of state for home, for being appointed as the national president of the Bhartiya Janata party. Patel and Shah are considered as political rivals in the Gujarat BJP. Shah was also in the race of Gujarat CM when Patel took over as the CM in May.

The chief minister lauded the political journey of Shah that began in 1983 as a student leader in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad; then he joined the BJP in 1996. She said, in the party, Shah had started his career as a ward-secretary of youth wing and then very skillfully strengthened the party to climb to the post of national president.

Referring to the extraordinary election campaigning works done in Uttar Pradesh by Shah in recently concluded lok Sabha elections, which resulted into thumping victory for the BJP and helped Narendra Modi to become the Prime Minister, Patel said, he (Shah) will continue to work as the national president for extending his victory march for the party in other states of the country.

In her congratulation message, Patel expressed a wish that the party will continue to get skilled leadership and guidance from Shah for strengthening the party at the national level.

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Israel air strikes kill 14 in Gaza on third day of campaign

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israeli air strikes on the southern and central Gaza Strip killed 14 people on Thursday including seven women and children, medics said, on the third day of a widening military operation.

The first strike hit a coffee shop in the city of Khan Yunis, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP, adding that six men were killed and at least 15 other people wounded.

The second, in Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, on the home of Raed Shalat, killed him and wounded several others, Qudra said.

Further strikes on two houses in Khan Yunis killed seven people - three women and four children, he said.

Dozens of strikes were heard slamming into the besieged Palestinian territory in the early hours of Thursday, as Israel's Operation Protective Edge, the largest military campaign against Gaza since 2012, entered day three.

On Wednesday, 29 Palestinians were killed, and Tuesday's toll stood at 21, bringing the total number of dead to 64.

The dead include at least 10 women and 18 children, according to an AFP count based on medical reports.

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Don't send kids over border: Obama to Central American parents

DALLAS: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned parents in Central America not to send their children alone on a perilous journey through Mexico to illegally cross the US border.

Obama also called on Congress to stop playing politics and to work with him to pass his request for $3.7 billion in emergency funding to deal with the building immigration crisis.

"Parents need to know this is an incredibly dangerous situation, and it is unlikely that their children will be able to stay," Obama said, referring to a flow of 57,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America who have crossed the southwestern US frontier since October.

"I've asked parents across Central America not to put their children in harm's way in this fashion."

Obama was speaking in Dallas, Texas, after a meeting with Texas's Republican governor Rick Perry, local officials and faith leaders to discuss the crisis.

The president also demanded that Congress quickly pass the emergency funding bill to tighten border surveillance and enforcement and to surge customs and legal resources to the border area to speed up deportations of illegal immigrants and to consider asylum cases.

"Is Congress prepared to act to put the resources in place to get this done?" Obama said.

"Are folks more interested in politics, or are they more interested in solving the problem?

"If the preference is for politics, then it won't be solved," said Obama.

The president's request for more money has not gone down well with Republicans in Congress, who say that his plan is more geared to dealing with illegal minors already in the country rather than stopping the flow of new illegal entries.a

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Chennai building collapse: Opposition parties stage walkout in Tamil Nadu assembly

CHENNAI: Opposition parties - the DMK, the DMDK, the Congress, the CPM, the CPI, the MMK and the Puthiya Tamizhagam -- walked out of the Tamil Nadu assembly on Thursday when the Speaker denied them permission to speak on the Chennai building collapse accident.

Speaker P Dhanapal cited Rule 66 of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Rules, which disallowed any motion which sought to raise discussion on a matter pending before a statutory tribunal or a statutory authority performing judicial or quasi-judicial functions or any commission or court of inquiry.

It all started when the House resumed for business for the day to debate on demand for grants for housing and urban development department.

DMK leader and former deputy chief minister M K Stalin stood up to seek the Chair to take up an adjournment motion to discuss the building collapse, which claimed 61 lives and injured 27 workers.

The DMK leader was soon joined by the members of other opposition parties.

Dhanapal's plea to the members to resume their seats went unheeded and at one point of time nothing was audible.

Housing minister R Vaithialingam said the members could first listen to his reply, which would not come in the way of an ongoing inquiry by a one-man inquiry commission led by former Madras High Court judge Justice R Raghupathy.

"Why don't you listen to my reply," the minister asked.

Later, Leader of the House O Pannerselvam intervened and said the previous DMK regime had set a precedence by not allowing the AIADMK member Kalairajan to speak on a subject which was under the scrutiny of an inquiry commission.
READ ALSO: Tamil Nadu assembly pays tributes to building, wall collapse victims

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Madras high court asks police to stay off tenant-landlord disputes

CHENNAI: Police should stay off landlord-tenant disputes, as the parties have remedy only in the competent civil court, the Madras high court has said.

Justice T S Sivagnanam, concurring with advocate S Namo Narayanan and passing orders on a petition filed by R Suresh, a few days ago, said: "If there is a landlord and tenant relationship, police are not entitled to inquire the matter. They should advise both the parties to approach the competent civil court or rent control authority."

The matter relates to a criminal complaint lodged against Suresh by his landlord P Syed Omar Sajeeth before the Teynampet police on June 7, seeking recovery of rent arrears.

After being summoned to appear in the police station, Suresh said he and his counsel met the officers handling the matter. Even after his counsel explained that there was absolutely no criminal offence necessitating the summoning of Suresh, police held inquiries.

Namo Narayanan said the police should not to have entertained the complaint at all, as there was no criminal element in the allegations. The dispute was civil in nature, he said. He then moved the high court seeking a direction to the police not to harass Suresh in the name of inquiry.

When the matter was taken up for hearing, additional public prosecutor admitted that an inquiry had indeed been conducted by the Teynampet police. However, It was closed, he said.

Recording the statement, Justice Sivagnanam pointed out that a police notice served under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was furnished in the court to prove that Suresh had been summoned to the station. Since it was stated that the inquiry had been over, Suresh should not be harassed by the police any further, the judge said, disposing of the petition.

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Shah will lead Maharashtra to victory in assembly polls: Mumbai BJP

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the BJP on Wednesday expressed confidence that the new BJP President Amit Shah, would be able to replicate the performance of the party in Maharashtra, as he did in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

50-year-old Shah had engineered a massive victory in Uttar Pradesh for BJP during the Lok sabha elections in May this year, where the party bagged 71 parliamentary seat, out of 80.

"The other name of Amit Shah is victory. Wherever Amit bhai goes, victory follows. We are confident that he will sweep Maharashtra in the upcoming assembly polls, the way he won states like UP and Gujarat during the Lok sabha elections. He is very well versed with the politics of Maharashtra as he himself was born in Mumbai," Ashish Shelar, President of Mumbai Unit of the BJP said while addressing reporters here.

Shelar added that Shah, being a grass root worker is the "best person" to win the hearts of people belonging to the backward classes and that will help the party swing the Maharashtra Assembly election results in the party's favour.

"Amit Shah is a leader who has always worked for the party workers and understand issues of the backward castes well. This has now worried the Congress-NCP leadership in the state, as with Shah's appointment, BJP central leadership has ensured that the 'Mahayuti' (mega-alliance) wins the Assembly elections at any cost," he added.

There was an atmosphere of celebration in the party's Mumbai office after the announcement of Shah's appointment was made this afternoon.

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NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden asks to extend stay in Russia

MOSCOW: A Russian lawyer for former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden says his client has applied to extend his stay in Russia.

Anatoly Kucherena said in comments quoted on Wednesday by Russian news agencies that Snowden has applied to Russia's migration authorities since his one-year permit is expiring at the end of July.

Snowden got stranded in a Moscow airport last year on his way from Hong Kong to Cuba, shortly after he revealed the NSA's sprawling program tapping phones across the country. He received asylum in Russia, attracting the ire of the United States.

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Two planes collide in air in Poland; two people dead

WARSAW (Poland): Officials say two small planes have collided in the air in central Poland, killing two people.

Firefighters spokesman Pawel Fratczak said the collision took place Wednesday near the city of Radom, 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Warsaw.

Fratczak said each plane carried two people. He said one fell to the ground and burst into flames, killing both on board, while the two in the other plane were injured.

The accident comes four days after one of Poland's worst recent passenger plane crashes, in which a plane carrying parachutists crashed and burst into flames in southern Poland, killing 11 people and injuring one.

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Deadly chemical weapon Sarin, used in the civil war in Syria, traced back to Britain

LONDON: The deadly chemical weapon - Sarin that was used in the civil war in Syria has been traced back to Britain.
Britain it seems oversaw the sale of chemicals to Syria that were eventually used in the manufacture of the deadly nerve agent Sarin.

Sarin is 20 times more deadly than cyanide. A drop the size of a pin-head can kill a person. It is often called a "poor man's atomic bomb" and kills by crippling the nervous system.

Documents from the Foreign Office suggest chemicals and components were supplied to Syria in the mid-1980s.

A report by UN chemical weapons inspectors found "clear and convincing evidence" that rockets containing sarin were fired at suburbs near the capital Damascus last August in an attack that killed hundreds of people.

Earlier, it had emerged that the UK government authorised the export of two chemicals to Syria last year that can be used to make the nerve agent Sarin.

The licences were to export potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride, which can both be used as precursor chemicals in the manufacture of nerve gas.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier confirmed that Sarin has been used on rebels by the ruling regime in Damascus. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have however insisted that although the licences were granted to an unnamed UK chemical company in January 2012, the substances were not sent to Syria before the permits were eventually revoked last July following tightened European Union sanctions.

Business secretary Vince Cable was asked by MPs to explain why a British company was granted export licences for the dual-use substances for six months in 2012 while Syria's civil war was raging and concern was rife that the regime could use chemical weapons on its own people.

Labour MP Thomas Docherty who is presently a member of the Commons Arms Export Controls Committee will table parliamentary questions demanding to know why the licences were granted and to whom.

The licences for the two chemicals were granted on 17 and 18 January last year for "use in industrial processes".

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Uproar in Rajya Sabha during laying of Rail Budget

NEW DELHI: The presentation of Railway Budget in Rajya Sabha was marked by a row today as Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry alleged that the budget speech has already got printed in a newspaper, which is a "breach of privilege" of the House.

As soon as the House met after lunch at 2pm deputy chairman P J Kurien called Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda to lay the Railway Budget.

While Gowda was laying a copy of the budget, Mistry rose in his seat and later came to aisle waving a newspaper and saying that the Railway Budget speech has been printed before it was presented before Parliament.

"It is a breach of the privilege of the House," Mistry said. P Rajeeve and K N Balagopal (both CPM) also stood up but what they said could not be heard.

Kurien told Mistry that he can give a notice or take it up during discussion on the railway budget for which ten hours have been allotted.

As the Congress leader persisted with his protest, Kurien told him, "If you are pressing for a privilege, you can give a notice."

Gowda laid the railway budget amid din after which the Chair adjourned the House for the day.

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Jayalalithaa urges Centre to reconsider UPA policy of linking rail fares to fuel price hike

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday welcomed the Railway Budget and commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi and railway minister Sadananda Gowda for recognizing the deep crisis in which the railways were left by the previous UPA government.

However, the chief minister wanted the government to reconsider linking rail fares to fuel price hike as it will hit the common man.

In a statement, Jayalalithaa said: "The Railway Budget 2014-15 is a serious exercise at consolidation which the new government at the Centre has been forced to undertake in the wake of the mismanagement of this extremely crucial sector by the UPA government over the past decade. The finances of the railways are in extremely poor shape which the railway minister has laid bare with disarming candour and honesty."

Commending the railway budget for the diamond quadrilateral high speed rail network, the chief minister said it would be a game-changer in terms of providing a transport infrastructure backbone for the country.

She said, "Introduction of high speed bullet trains is an aspirational goal which will greatly enthuse the country. I urge that this technology should be next brought to Chennai, which closely followed Mumbai in the first introduction of railway services in the country in the 1850s."

The chief minister expressed her happiness over the holistic approach proposed to achieve greater urban transport integration with railways. "It responds to a long standing request that my government has placed to integrate urban transportation in Chennai. I hope this also leads to an early decision on the handover of the MRTS network in Chennai to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited as I had already requested," the chief minister said.

"I also expect that, with the priority being accorded to allocating funds to long-pending projects, some of the long-pending projects in Tamil Nadu will also be completed early and the people of the state will benefit. I also welcome the proposals to introduce new trains connecting Chennai to different parts of the country and the proposals for special trains to Melmaruvathur and Velankanni," she added.

She said it is very appropriate to target a substantial increase in carrying freight and making the railways. A number of measures and improvements have been announced to improve the freight performance which are very welcome. "I hope that the improvement in coal movement would ease the coal availability position in thermal power generation stations in Tamil Nadu," Jayalalithaa said.

The Railway Budget has also rightly placed considerable emphasis on improving the experience of the rail traveller by improving cleanliness, security, catering, toilet and other facilities at stations and on trains. Safety in operations has also been appropriately accorded the highest priority.

"However, I request the Prime Minister and the railway minister to spare the common man from the burden of further fare increases by not following the previous government's policy of fuel price linked fare increases," she said.

"I welcome the railway minister's proposal to work closely with the state governments on several safety related initiatives, including speedy conversion of unmanned level crossings and involving states in the monitoring of on-going projects. This reflects a new working style and culture which will augur well for speedier project implementation."

"I commend the Prime Minister and the railway minister for having practised transparency in placing before the country the true status of the Indian Railways. Their approach is fiscally responsible and very bold. We look forward to the new initiatives to raise finances and the proposed improvements in project and operational management bearing fruit and thereby delivering on the hopes and aspirations that have been created," she said.

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Jayalalithaa urges Centre to reconsider UPA policy of linking rail fares to fuel price hike

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday welcomed the Railway Budget and commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi and railway minister Sadananda Gowda for recognizing the deep crisis in which the railways were left by the previous UPA government.

However, the chief minister wanted the government to reconsider linking rail fares to fuel price hike as it will hit the common man.

In a statement, Jayalalithaa said: "The Railway Budget 2014-15 is a serious exercise at consolidation which the new government at the Centre has been forced to undertake in the wake of the mismanagement of this extremely crucial sector by the UPA government over the past decade. The finances of the railways are in extremely poor shape which the railway minister has laid bare with disarming candour and honesty."

Commending the railway budget for the diamond quadrilateral high speed rail network, the chief minister said it would be a game-changer in terms of providing a transport infrastructure backbone for the country.

She said, "Introduction of high speed bullet trains is an aspirational goal which will greatly enthuse the country. I urge that this technology should be next brought to Chennai, which closely followed Mumbai in the first introduction of railway services in the country in the 1850s."

The chief minister expressed her happiness over the holistic approach proposed to achieve greater urban transport integration with railways. "It responds to a long standing request that my government has placed to integrate urban transportation in Chennai. I hope this also leads to an early decision on the handover of the MRTS network in Chennai to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited as I had already requested," the chief minister said.

"I also expect that, with the priority being accorded to allocating funds to long-pending projects, some of the long-pending projects in Tamil Nadu will also be completed early and the people of the state will benefit. I also welcome the proposals to introduce new trains connecting Chennai to different parts of the country and the proposals for special trains to Melmaruvathur and Velankanni," she added.

She said it is very appropriate to target a substantial increase in carrying freight and making the railways. A number of measures and improvements have been announced to improve the freight performance which are very welcome. "I hope that the improvement in coal movement would ease the coal availability position in thermal power generation stations in Tamil Nadu," Jayalalithaa said.

The Railway Budget has also rightly placed considerable emphasis on improving the experience of the rail traveller by improving cleanliness, security, catering, toilet and other facilities at stations and on trains. Safety in operations has also been appropriately accorded the highest priority.

"However, I request the Prime Minister and the railway minister to spare the common man from the burden of further fare increases by not following the previous government's policy of fuel price linked fare increases," she said.

"I welcome the railway minister's proposal to work closely with the state governments on several safety related initiatives, including speedy conversion of unmanned level crossings and involving states in the monitoring of on-going projects. This reflects a new working style and culture which will augur well for speedier project implementation."

"I commend the Prime Minister and the railway minister for having practised transparency in placing before the country the true status of the Indian Railways. Their approach is fiscally responsible and very bold. We look forward to the new initiatives to raise finances and the proposed improvements in project and operational management bearing fruit and thereby delivering on the hopes and aspirations that have been created," she said.

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Uproar in Rajya Sabha during laying of Rail Budget

NEW DELHI: The presentation of Railway Budget in Rajya Sabha was marked by a row today as Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry alleged that the budget speech has already got printed in a newspaper, which is a "breach of privilege" of the House.

As soon as the House met after lunch at 2pm deputy chairman P J Kurien called Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda to lay the Railway Budget.

While Gowda was laying a copy of the budget, Mistry rose in his seat and later came to aisle waving a newspaper and saying that the Railway Budget speech has been printed before it was presented before Parliament.

"It is a breach of the privilege of the House," Mistry said. P Rajeeve and K N Balagopal (both CPM) also stood up but what they said could not be heard.

Kurien told Mistry that he can give a notice or take it up during discussion on the railway budget for which ten hours have been allotted.

As the Congress leader persisted with his protest, Kurien told him, "If you are pressing for a privilege, you can give a notice."

Gowda laid the railway budget amid din after which the Chair adjourned the House for the day.

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Centre to hold high-level meeting this month over hazardous tar balls in Goa coasts

NEW DELHI: With Goa tar balls phenomenon getting wider attention of environmentalists and parliamentarians, the Center on Tuesday announced calling a high-level meeting of stakeholders, including experts from across the country, later this month to find out exact reason of the deposition of polluting substances along the state coasts every year during monsoon season.

"We still don't know the exact reason why does this phenomenon affect Goa coast. It is important to discuss the issue thoroughly based on scientific findings and to have a clear road-map to deal with the menace", said Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar.

He was responding to various concerns expressed by MPs during a short duration discussion over the issue in Rajya Sabha.

He said experts from National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), officials of Goa pollution control board, coast guards and Shipping Directorate would be invited to attend the meeting to suggest a road-map to deal with the tar balls issue.

Members during the discussion pointed out that the tar balls phenomenon was not only affecting state tourism but also endangering marine ecology.

Raising the issue, Congress member Shantaram Naik blamed foreign shipping companies for such deposition, saying oil spilled during washing of containers off the Indian coast is probably the main reason behind such marine pollution in the state.

"Are such companies taking advantage of liberal environment laws and deliberately use Indian coast to wash their containers? ... Why our coast guards or Navy don't take action against those ships? ...Aren't these tar balls posing security risk along Indian coasts"? asked Naik.

He also emphasized that the government should find out whether some countries were doing something deliberately to hit India's tourism.

The tar balls are the remnants of oily substances that are dispersed naturally into the sea through wave action over a long period of time, and eventually get deposited at the seabed.

"Oily substances might be available in many places off the Indian coast. But, why this phenomenon is restricted to Goa coast alone? We have to find out the reason before opting for a solution", said the minister.

He noted that the NEERI had carried out a study on behalf of the director general of shipping and submitted a report to the Bombay high court. The findings of the NEERI were, however, inconclusive as it pointed out multiple reasons without citing an exact cause of the phenomena.

The NEERI findings noted that the source of the tar balls "could be oil-exploration activities from offshore oil installations, natural phenomenon from the sea-bed or from sea going vessels passing through the area" — leaving it remains a mystery for policy-makers.

Javadekar said, "Coast guards ships and air-crafts are regularly deployed for surveillance and monitoring of the maritime zones of India, including EEZ off the coast of Goa. No oil spill has been found by the Coast Guard ships and air-craft on EEZ surveillance off the west coast of India, including off Goa coast."

He also noted that the overall responsibility for taking measures for preserving and protecting the marine environment and to prevent and control marine pollution lies with the Coast Guard.

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Temporary relief for Mumbai Metro passengers, fares to be between Rs 10-20 till July 31

MUMBAI: Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL) on Monday offered to bring down the rates of Mumbai Metro from its fare structure of Rs 10-40 to Rs 10-20 till July 31. The statement about the discounted fare was made before the Bombay high court which was hearing a petition filed by MMRDA challenging a single judge's order rejecting its plea for a stay on the rates fixed for MMOPL.

A division bench headed by chief justice Mohit Shah directed MMRDA to add the Central government and state urban development department as parties in the petition. The court has scheduled the case for further hearing on July 24.

The promotional fares of Rs 10 for Mumbai metro were set to expire on July 8, following which Mumbai Metro passengers would have had to pay between Rs 10 and Rs 40 on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route. The high court was informed that the fare fixation committee would require three months to take a decision on the fares.

A press release issued by MMOPL said that as per the new discounted slab a commuter would have to pay mere Rs 20 to travel between Versova and Ghatkopar by using the token and Rs 15 if he uses Smart card. A flat week-end fare of Rs 5 will be applicable to children to commute between any two stations, said MMOPL.

Last month, the high court had rejected MMRDA's plea for a stay on the fare hike. the court had kept the issue of whether the fare was reasonable open, and had directed the Centre to constitute the fare fixation committee. The court said the committee could change the fares if required after adjusting the fare recovered until then, including the period of the promotional fares.

MMOPL had fixed the initial tariff range at Rs10-40 for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route, which was inaugurated on June 11 after a prolonged delay and considerable cost escalation. But MMRDA took RInfra to the high court insisting that the Metro fares should be as per the concession agreement that set it between Rs 9 and Rs 13.

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Punjabis trapped in Iraq: Punjab CM Badal to meet Sushma Swaraj again

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday said he would again meet external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to ask her to expedite the process of bringing back 39 people from the state "trapped" in Mosul region of strife-torn Iraq.

An assurance in this regard was given by Badal to a delegation of the family members of those 39 Punjabis, who called on the chief minister here, an official release said.

The chief minister said that he is personally keeping a close liaison with the Union government, officers of MEA and the special envoy of India to Iraq Suresh Reddy to ensure safe return of Punjabis stranded in that strife-torn country.

Expressing satisfaction over the efforts made by the Union government in this regard, he exhorted the families to have faith in the government, which was not leaving any stone unturned for safe evacuation of every single Indian from that country, the release said.

Badal also assured the families that on its part the state government is making strenuous efforts to expedite the process for the release of their next of kin, who were trapped in Iraqi civil war.

The chief minister has also spoken to special envoy of Indian government to Iraq Suresh Reddy over phone, to get the latest update on this issue, the release said.

Reddy informed the chief minister that all the 39 Punjabis were safe and the Union government was exploiting all diplomatic channels to ensure their early release.

The special envoy apprised Badal that they were in touch with the owner of the factory where these workers were employed so that they could be evacuated at the earliest, the release said, adding Reddy also spoke to a family member of one of the Punjabis to give assurance of their safe return.

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17 miners killed in coal mine blast in China

BEIJING: Seventeen miners, who were trapped after a blast in a coal mine in China's Xinjiang province, have died, rescuers said on Monday.

The explosion took place on Saturday when 20 people were working inside a pit mined by Dahuangshan Yuxin Coal Mining Co. Ltd, 120km from the regional capital of Urumqi.

While three of them were rescued, the others were trapped underground, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The company is owned by the sixth agriculture division of the Xinjiang Construction Corps, a paramilitary organisation.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, the report said.

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Each MBBS seat is sold for Rs 1 crore in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry: PIL

CHENNAI: Private medical colleges in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry charge up to Rs 1 crore as capitation fee for MBBS courses, says a PIL which wants Madras high court to ask state and Central governments to form statutory committees to curb the racket.

Tamil Nadu and its neighbouring Union territory of Puducherry account for more than 50 medical colleges, half of the run by the government.

If left unchecked, these 'factories' would churn out money-minded medicos to the detriment of public welfare and people, it said.

The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Satish K Agnihotri and Justice M M S Sundresh has ordered notices to the Centre and the state.

The PIL of M Swaminathan said that while admission process and fee structure were as per rules in government colleges, the private unaided institutions charged up to Rs 1 crore for medical seat.

Shady deals are struck, all ethics are thrown to the winds and huge black money transactions are done in MBBS admission profess, according to the PIL said.

It said the errant colleges conducted their own farcical entrance tests by supplying both question papers and answer keys to students who had paid capitation fees.

It said even the CBI had not properly conducted a probe into the racket. The CBI had not booked any purchaser and sellers of medical seats involving huge black money, it added.

It was a cruel joke played on the future of millions of brilliant and innocent students from poor family background, the PIL said.

Describing it as mother of all maladies, it said private medical colleges and deemed universities were the biggest culprits.

Calling for an overhaul of educational policy, the PIL wanted the court to ask the state and central governments to constitute committees to monitor medical education admissions and curb the practice of capitation fee collection.

"If capitation fee and profiteering are to be checked, the method of admission has to be regulated so that the admission is based on merit and transparency, and students are not exploited," the PIL said.

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Sankararaman murder case: Puducherry govt to appeal against acquittal of Kanchi seers, others

PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry government has decided to file an appeal against a local court order that acquitted Kanchi seers Jayendra Saraswathi and Vijayendra Saraswathi and 22 others in the Sankararaman murder case.

Lt Governor Virendra Kataria issued orders to the special public prosecutor N Devadass on Monday directing him to file an appeal.

Tamil Nadu ADSP (CBCID) Backia Parimala collected the orders from the prosecutor. The prosecutor will soon file an appeal in the Madras high court.

Principal district and sessions judge C S Murugan in November last year acquitted the seers and 22 accused pointing out that the prosecution failed to prove the motive of the murder. Most of the main witnesses turned hostile.

As many as 187 witnesses were examined and re-examined by the prosecution and defence counsels. Eighty-two witnesses and a lone approver, Ravi Subramanian, turned hostile.

The judgment came more than nine years after Sankararaman, manager of Sri Varadharajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram, who had levelled charges of financial mismanagement against the Kanchi seers, was found murdered on September 3, 2004.

The Kanchi seers were charged with criminal conspiracy, misleading the court by giving false information, criminal trespass and supply of funds to carry out criminal activities.

The Puducherry principal district and sessions court began the trial in November 2005. The murder case that attained nationwide attention took several twists and turns including charges against the seer for attempting to influence the judiciary.

Four judges -- M Chinapandi, D Krishnaraja, T Ramasamy and C S Murugan -- heard the trial that had lasted for more than nine years.

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Haseena Parkar, Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, dies of heart attack

MUMBAI: Haseena Parkar, younger sister of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, died in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon after she suffered a massive heart attack.

Parkar (55), stayed at her posh first floor apartment in the Gorden Hall building at Nagpada. She is survived by two daughters. Her eldest son, Danish died a few years ago in a road accident.

Sources said that Parkar, who was observing Ramazan, complained of chest pain and was rushed to nearby Habib Hospital where she is learnt to have breathed last.

Her flat at the Gorden Hall was well guarded by a few people and a double door. She is the seventh child in a family of 12 kids. Her father, Mohammed Ibrahim, was a police head constable in Mumbai crime branch.

She was also facing a criminal case of extortion but was never arrested. The case was about a Rs one crore investment by a real estate broker, Vinod Avlani, who claimed Parker and her associates had taken Rs one crore for construction but later refused to give him back and threatened with dire consequences. Parkar's lawyer in the court said it was a case of cheating and not extortion and she was granted anticipatory bail in this 2005 case.

ABOUT THE FAMILY:

Haseena Parkar is the child number seven in a family of 12 kids.

Dawood is third in the sequence.

After eldest sister Saeeda and Sabir Ahmad's death, Dawood is the eldest.

Haseena's husband, Ibrahim Ismail Parkar was killed in 1991.

Haseena's sport No A2745364 issued on April 5, 1997 was valid till April 6, 2007.

She has been for Haj on the same passport in 1998 and visited Dubai several times on the same passport after the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast.

But Haseena lost the passport on February 14, 2005 while returning from the Mumbai Crime branch.

She applied for a duplicate copy of the passport. She was denied one.

Her lawyer Shyam Keshwani had asked for a reason from the Regional Passport Officer, Worli.

The Dawood sibblings: (All 12)

1) Saeeda (expired) 2) Sabir Ahmad (killed in 1981) 3) Dawood Hasan 4) Nurul Haq alias Noora 5) Iqbal Hasan 6) Anees Ahmad 7) Haseena Ismail Parkar 8) Zaitoon Antuley 9) Farzana Tungekar 10) Mumtaz Shaikh, 11) Mustaqeem Ali 12) Mohammed Humayoon,

Dawoods family

Daughters: Mahrukh, Mahreen, Maria, Javeria Son: Moin. He recently finished his hafeza (learnt the Quran by heart). Home: Moin Palace, his home in Karachi before 9/11.

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Hurricane Arthur hits eastern Canada, causes power outages

HALIFAX (Nova Scotia): Arthur hit Canada's Maritime provinces with near-hurricane strength winds and torrential rains, knocking down trees and leaving about tens of thousands of people without power.

Canadian Hurricane Centre spokesman Chris Fogarty said that winds were easing, but more rainfall is predicted for already drenched southwestern New Brunswick.

In Fredericton, New Brunswick, Mike Gange said the buffeting winds tore down a maple tree in his front yard, damaging roof tiles and a rain gutter as it fell. He said that as he drove around the New Brunswick provincial capital he saw about 25 homes with big trees knocked down.

Gange said he has not seen weather this severe in his 41 years in Fredericton.

"It's like a Tasmanian devil ripping through your backyard,'' he said. "It's crazy here ... at times it rains so hard you can't see 10 feet in front of you.''

Arthur was downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical storm Saturday morning by the time it reached Atlantic Canada. A day earlier it swiped at North Carolina's Outer Banks, where some vacationers were already back on beaches Saturday despite warnings that the water remained dangerous.

Environment Canada measured wind gusts topping 72 mph (116 kph) in the Halifax area, while more than 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain had fallen in some areas of New Brunswick.

By late Saturday afternoon, Arthur was 19 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Moncton, New Brunswick, with maximum sustained winds of 56 mph (90 kph), the Canadian Hurricane Centre said.

Nova Scotia Power said about 135,000 of its customers were without power at mid-afternoon Saturday. New Brunswick's main electrical utility reported more than 115,000 outages by mid-afternoon. It warned some residents they could be without power for up to 48 hours because of widespread damage caused by the storm.

NB Power said the largest number of outages was in Fredericton where winds of more than 62 mph (100 kph) had knocked down a number of large trees, leaving streets littered with debris.

Police in Saint John, New Brunswick, said some local roads were closed because they were covered by flood water. The storm also caused flight cancellations and delays at the region's largest airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Prince Edward Island said a number of electrical poles had been knocked down by the storm and roads were blocked by downed trees.

The Canadian Hurricane Center said the storm would end in the Maritimes overnight and then track northeast through the Gulf of St. Lawrence toward Newfoundland on Sunday.

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Three injured in grenade blasts in Assam's Chirang district

BIJNI (Assam): Three people were injured on Sunday when some unidentified youths lobbed grenades in Bijni town in Assam's Chirang district, police said.

Motorcycle borne youths lobbed a grenade near Bolanguri bus stand at Kuklun Road area of Bijni town critically injuring three persons working in a garage nearby.

In another incident within a few minutes of the first, another grenade exploded near No 2 Bhetgaon area of the town but nobody was injured in the explosion.

The injured, identified as Palan Mandal, Sujannam Das and Sujan Arya, have been hospitalized in a critical condition.

A massive search operation has been launched to nab the culprits.

Chirang superintendent of police Ranjan Bhuyan and senior civil officials of the district administration rushed to the spot and reviewed the situation.

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Gunmen kill 17 in attacks on police stations, barracks in Uganda

KAMPALA: Gunmen killed 17 people when they attacked three police stations and a military barracks in western Uganda, the military said on Sunday.

Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the Uganda People's Defence forces, said they killed 41 of the attackers and captured another 12 during the raids on Saturday evening.

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Three Boeing 737 fuselages crashes into river in Montana in US

CHICAGO: A freight train derailment has reportedly damaged three Boeing 737 fuselages being transported to the facility of the aviation giant when three cars crashed into a river in the US state of Montana.

The freight train derailed in western Montana on Thursday, sending three cars carrying 737, 777, and 747 aircraft components down a steep embankment and into Clark Fork River.

Clean-up crews in Montana have begun their work to recover the fuselages that crashed into the river on their way to the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, US media reports said on Sunday.

Montana Rail Link spokeswoman Lynda Frost said 19 cars from a westbound train derailed on Thursday about 16 km west of Alberton. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

Thirteen of the cars that derailed were carrying freight, mostly aircraft parts with some soybeans and denatured alcohol. Six were empty. She said crews were working to remove the aircraft parts from the water.

The train also was carrying fuselage panels for the Boeing 777 and wing parts for the Boeing 747.

Meanwhile, Boeing said it was assessing the damage to aircraft components that were aboard a freight train that derailed in Montana.

"The derailment on Thursday threatened to throw a wrench in the tightly choreographed and far-flung aerospace supply chain, which depends on just-in-time deliveries of giant parts by train, plane and boat to meet the record demand for jetliners," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Boeing said an investigation into the accident was under way.

The company has "deployed experts to the scene to begin a thorough assessment of the situation," a spokesman said. "Once we determine the extent of damage we will assess what, if any, impact there will be to production," he said.

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