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Chinese hostages in Iraq
released
42 killed in bus mishap in Nepal
Toothbrush link to tsunami victims
Action sought against radio hosts for insulting Indians
NRI wins US teacher award
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Chinese hostages in Iraq
released
Beijing, January 22 The Chinese Embassy in Iraq today confirmed, that the eight Chinese hostages held by Iraqi insurgents since Tuesday had been released, Xinhua news agency reported from Baghdad. "The eight Chinese were freed and handed to the Committee of Muslim Scholars," it quoted Al -Arabia station as saying, citing a statement by their captors. Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera TV also reported that the Chinese hostages had been released by the armed group. The eight Chinese, aged between 18 and 40 and identified as citizens from Pingtan County, east China's Fujian Province, went to seek jobs in Iraq. They were abducted en route to Jordan by gunmen from the Islamic Resistance Nu'man Brigade, according to a videotape released by the group on Tuesday. The Chinese government had been making every effort it could to secure the release of the eight Chinese workers. Last night, the Chinese Foreign Ministry had issued another appeal to the kidnappers, urging them to release the eight, stressing that the Chinese government always supported the Iraqi people in their cause. This is the second time that Chinese citizens have been kidnapped in Iraq. Last April, seven Chinese nationals were kidnapped. However, they were released soon after prominent Muslim clerics intervened on behalf of Beijing.
— PTI |
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42 killed in bus mishap in Nepal
Kathmandu, January 22 The bridegroom was
seriously injured in the mishap, according to police sources. The accident happened in the remote south-western district of Pyuthan, some 325 km west of Kathmandu. At the time of the mishap, many passengers were travelling on the roof of the bus. Rescue teams were recovering bodies from the bottom of the ravine into which the bus fell.
— PTI |
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Toothbrush link to tsunami victims
Toothbrushes provide clues to the identity of many of the hundreds of British citizens who perished in the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Police teams throughout the United Kingdom have started to collect personal belongings of suspected victims of the Asian disaster in order to identify them among the thousands of bodies lying buried in makeshift graves or on mortuary slabs. In Thailand, where there are 39 confirmed British dead and up to 188 thought likely to have died, the authorities are collecting DNA samples from every corpse, at the rate of about 110 a day. In order to match up the unidentified bodies with the suspected victims, the British police are having to gather DNA samples from the homes of the missing - hence the toothbrushes. DNA can be recovered from skin cells lodged in the bristles. Forensic material can also be retrieved from strands of hair. Hairbrushes and combs sealed in protective plastic bags have begun to arrive at the Metropolitan Police’s central casualty bureau based as their training college in Hendon, north London. Many of the forensic samples are kept in fridges, while others are stored in a row of box files under each victim’s name. Other material being collected includes dental records — considered the quickest and most effective way of identification - medical notes showing unusual scars and distinctive marks, and fingerprints. The Met’s casualty bureau is the heart of the UK operation and where up to 600 police officers and staff have been working around the clock to identify the dead and to offer support to the grieving. At the peak of the disaster the centre was having to deal with 17,000 telephone calls a day. From an initial 23,000 “nominals” or possible British victims, the police have narrowed it down to 53 dead (39 from Thailand, 11 from Sri Lanka, and three from the Maldives), and a further 208 that are considered “highly likely” to be caught in the tsunami. Another 331 are classed as “possibly” involved. Another 1,200 are still missing, but are not believed to be involved. These include independent travellers who may have been in the region, but have probably moved on since. — By arrangement with
The Independent |
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Action sought against radio hosts
New York, January 22 In the letter to Rich Lewis, General Manager of the WUSL Power 99 FM yesterday, the AJC and USINPAC asked him to "move expeditiously" against morning hosts Star and Buc Wild and to consider terminating services. In a press note issued, they said while on the air on December 15, Star telephoned a call centre in India taking mail orders from the USA for hair beads. Listeners heard Star verbally abuse a female agent named Steena. Although both Star and Buc Wild were suspended for one day, the letter said this measure was woefully inadequate, and urged him to take further steps to discipline these men for their actions. The letter was signed by Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC's general counsel; Sanjay Puri, Executive Director of USINPAC; and Ilana Krop Wilensik, Assistant Director of AJC's Philadelphia Chapter.
— PTI |
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NRI wins US teacher award
Houston, January 22 As a state winner of the ESL (English as second language) teacher of the year award, she advanced as a nominee to the National Association for Bilingual Education competition. "Staying focused and working hard towards your goal always gets one noticed sooner or later," said beaming Ms Maheshri. The teacher, being an immigrant, with initial language deficiencies, enjoys helping students face the challenges she has conquered and reminds them that the ESL classroom is just a bridge to their acquisition of English, not the destination. "It doesn't matter how you were educated or how many degrees you earned, what matters is how you relate and connect with your students. I want the students to overcome second language barriers and empower them to achieve their best," she said. Winning this honour was not an easy ride for Ms Maheshri, who came to the USA 31 years back, from a small village of Akola in Maharashtra. She started teaching 15 years ago, initially as a volunteer as she was not a certified teacher. The voluntary work with education system got her involved and interested in teaching, but getting certified was a struggle because of the "way the certification system works here", she said.
— PTI |
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Liquid methane found on Titan
Paris, January 22 "There is liquid on Titan. It has been raining not long ago, there is liquid methane," said Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Director of the Huygens mission at the European Space Agency (ESA). "There are truly remarkable processes at work on Titan's surface," he said. US researcher Marty Tomasko of the University of Arizona said the data sent back by Huygens showed "many familiar earth-like processes: abrasion, erosion, precipitation" "On the place where we landed, it had been raining not long ago, may be two days ago," Tomasko said at a presentation to the press at the ESA headquarters in Paris. Huygens, a 319-kg craft fitted with cameras, atmospheric sensors and gas analysers, landed on Titan on January 14, sending back data to a US mothership, Cassini. Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, was chosen as, intriguingly, it is the only moon in the Solar System that has a substantial atmosphere. Its thick mix of nitrogen and methane is suspected to be undergoing chemical reactions similar to those that unfolded on Earth billions of years ago. That process eventually provided the conditions for life on our planet. The mission was the farthest landing from Earth ever attempted. — AFP |
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