Al-Qaida plans cartoon film to recruit kids
London, July 21
An al-Qaida affiliate says it plans to roll out what some have called a Disney-like animated cartoon aimed at recruiting children to the terror network.

New UK visa plan to attract global talent 
London, July 21
Britain has announced a new visa category to facilitate the immigration for exceptionally talented people from India and other non-EU countries in the fields of Science, Humanities, Engineering and the Arts.

Houston, July 21
Space shuttle Atlantis touched down safely in its final landing at the Kennedy Space Centre here today, bringing the curtain down on the NASA’s 30-year space shuttle programme considered one of the most eventful eras in the US history of manned spaceflight.

Atlantis landed just before sunrise at 6 am local time, completing its 13-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), with its Commander paying tribute to the long-running space shuttle programme.

Around 2,000 persons gathered to watch the historic landing, which came as a long-awaited — and much-dreaded — milestone marking the end of an eventful era for the US manned spaceflight.

Commander Christopher Ferguson guided Atlantis through a sweeping left overhead turn and lined up on Runway 15, quickly descending into the glare of powerful xenon spotlights. The mood was electric, both sad and triumphant, as a vehicle that had been hurtling through space a little more than an hour earlier rolled to a graceful stop at the Kennedy Space Centre.

“Mission complete, Houston,’ Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson radioed to Mission Control at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. “After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle found its place in history, and it's come to a final stop.”

It was the 33rd voyage for Atlantis, and the 135th for NASA's reusable winged spaceships. The 30-year space shuttle programme, which began with the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981, is at a close. “There's a lot of emotion today, but one thing is indisputable: America is not going to stop exploring. Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour, and our ship Atlantis. Thank you for protecting us and bringing this programme to such a fitting end. God bless all of you. God bless the United States of America.” Ferguson led a veteran crew of four on this last mission, including pilot Doug Hurley and specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. They were the last of 355 spaceflyers to ride aboard the space shuttle over the years.

The end of the mission heralds a difficult time for NASA, where the space agency finds itself without an American vehicle to fly astronauts for the first time since 1975, when the last Apollo capsule flew on the Apollo-Soyuz mission. The gap between the Apollo and the shuttle programs lasted six years, and NASA is now looking at a gap of at least four years between the shuttle era and what will come next. — PTI

Washington, July 21
Separatist Kashmiri leader, Ghulam Nabi Fai, who according to the FBI was a paid agent of the ISI of Pakistan, had roped in several eminent Indian journalists and intellectuals during his more than two decades of high-profile operations.

Fai’s posh residence in Virginia. — PTI

Kashmir-born and educated at Aligarh Muslim University, Fai even managed get them in the drafting committee of his annual event “International Kashmir Peace Conference”. Fai (62) was arrested by the FBI on charges of receiving hundreds and thousands of dollars from the ISI and using them for lobbying at the Capitol Hill and holding seminars and conferences.

According to the 43-page FBI affidavit submitted to a US court, the ISI not only funded his Kashmir American Council (KAC), which was run from its headquartered in Washington, but also dictated his speeches and determined who was to be invited to the conferences. The five-member drafting committee of the resolution adopted by the two-day conference from July 29-30, 2010, included eminent Indian journalist and former Indian High Commissioner to Britain Kuldip Naya and former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Maleeha Lodhi, according to a press release issued by Fai on July 30, 2010.

The conference, held in the prestigious Gold Room of the Rayburn House at the Capitol, was on “India-Pakistan Relations: Breaking the Deadlock over Kashmir”.

The resolution titled “Washington Declaration” said the participants “unanimously” expressed grave concern over the “deteriorating” human rights situation in Kashmir and urged the Indian Government to withdraw its armed forces from civilian populated areas. According to another press release issued by the Kashmiri American Council the participants included Justice (Retd) Rajinder Sachar, journalist Harinder Baweja, Ved Bhasin, Editor-in-Chief of Kashmir Times, Gautam Navlakha, Editor, Economic and Political Weekly. — PTI 

London, July 21
An al-Qaida affiliate says it plans to roll out what some have called a Disney-like animated cartoon aimed at recruiting children to the terror network.

Scenes from the proposed short film show young boys dressed in battle fatigues and participating in raids, killings and terror plots. It is the latest attempt by the terror organisation to use multimedia to draw in potential recruits. Recently, a Yemen-based extremist group released an online women’s magazine with makeup and chastity tips.

News of the animated film was announced by a group called Abu al-Laith al-Yemen on the Arabic-language al-Shamouk jihadist website, the London-based Quilliam Foundation reported on Wednesday. Quilliam, which was formed by former jihadists and now aims to stamp out extremism, said it appears the group is affiliated with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. — AP

London, July 21
Britain has announced a new visa category to facilitate the immigration for exceptionally talented people from India and other non-EU countries in the fields of Science, Humanities, Engineering and the Arts.

The new Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) category will open on August 9, 2011, and will have 1,000 places in the first year of operation, official sources here said.

The new category will facilitate not only those who have already been recognised but also those with the potential to be recognised as leaders in their respective fields, the sources added.

There will be 500 places available between August 9 and November 30 and a further 500 places available from December 1 to March 31, 2012. The number of places will be reviewed at the end of March 2012. The immigration category will be overseen by four 'competent bodies', which will advise the UK Border Agency on these 'exceptionally talented' migrants to ensure that they are the brightest and best in their field.

The bodies are: the Royal Society, a fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists, will be able to nominate up to 300 places; the Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts, will also be able to nominate up to 300 places; the Royal Academy of Engineering, Britain's national academy for engineering, will have up to 200 places to nominate; and the British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences will be able to nominate up to 200 places.

Migrants seeking entry to the UK under this category will not need to be sponsored by an employer, but will need to be recommended by one of the competent bodies.— PTI 

The new Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) category will open on August 9, 2011, and will have 1,000 places in the first year of operation, official sources here said.

It will facilitate not only those who have already been recognised but also those with the potential to be recognised as leaders in their respective fields.