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Scientists urge G8 not to ignore global warming
Our films get due respect overseas: Amitabh
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Indian students can get US visa in 120 days
Indian among 2 held with heroin
100 suspected plague deaths in Congo
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Scientists urge G8 not to ignore global warming
London, June 14 ''One year on from the UK Gleneagles Summit, where the G8 committed to taking action on climate change, this crucial issue must not be allowed to fall by the wayside,'' said Martin Rees, president of the UK's Royal Society. Rees is a signatory to the statement from the science academies of the G8 and China, Brazil, India and South Africa. ''The G8 must demonstrate that this was a serious pledge by integrating climate concerns with their discussions regarding security of supply,'' he said. Britain pushed global warming to the top of the agenda during its presidency of the G8 in 2005, eliciting promises of action from some of the world's major polluters. But energy supply worries have increased as Russia briefly turned off gas supplies in December in a dispute with Ukraine, Iraq's insurgency has escalated as has a nuclear row with Iran, factors that boosted oil prices to record levels. Environmentalists say the topic has dominated discussions in the lead up to the G8 summit in St Petersberg from July 15-17, pushing a follow-up to the resounding Gleneagles climate change declarations all but off the agenda. US President George W. Bush, who signed the Gleneagles declaration but has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol on tackling human-caused global warming by cutting carbon dioxide emissions, has called for reduced the US dependence on imported oil. Partly as a result of energy security worries there has been a surge in interest in nuclear power and coal as power sources. ''As some of the most intensive users of energy in the world, the G8 nations bear a special responsibility to help stimulate the clean energy revolution that will deliver economically, environmentally and socially while ensuring the lights stay on,'' Rees
said. — Reuters
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Our films get due respect overseas: Amitabh
Dubai, June 14 Kicking off the seventh International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend here, Mr Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador of the annual event held outside Indian shores, said Indian films were receiving overwhelming response from people cutting across nationalities who enjoyed the Indian films. ‘’The West was earlier cynical about our movies. They were an object of ridicule for the songs and dances. But today they (west) not only enjoy the songs and dances but also the story characters,’’ he said. Mr Bachchan noted that IIFA has been appreciated by the host countries ever since it was launched. It is for the first time that prominent film personalities from South India like Mamooty, Mohanlal, Vikram, Prabhu, Meera Jasmine, among others, are attending the IIFA weekend. The IIFA weekend began with the IIFA world premiere of Jagmohan Mundhra’s Provoked starring Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews and Nandita Das. The two day FICCI-IIFA Global business forum to promote bilateral business will be held at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr Bachchan will inaugurate the three-day film festival tomorrow. The festival will open with hit Tamil film “Chandramukhi’’ and includes 31 critically and commercially acclaimed films in all languages. The IIFA foundation fashion extravaganza will be the high point of the second day. Director Karan Johar will have a special conversation with his film star friends and reveal some of their most intimate secrets during the event. — UNI
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Indian students can get US visa in 120 days
Washington, June 14 In a State Department-hosted webchat yesterday she said, ''The official period prior to studies in the United States in which a student may apply for a visa is 120 days, and that the visa office in New Delhi is currently accommodating all requests for student visa interviews within three weeks.'' Post September 11 attacks, there was a sharp decline in the number of student visa applications and visa procedures too were made stringent. ''We are now on an upswing and on track to outpace last years number of 18,000 student visas issued,'' she said. India has been the leading country of origin for international students in the United States for the fourth consecutive year. Ms Ironfield said there is no Congressionally mandated limit for issuance of student visas and added that majority of the student visa applications from India are approved. The State Department also supports a network of 450 Education USA advising Centres in 170 countries to assist prospective students in selecting suitable schools that meet their needs.
— UNI
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Indian among 2 held with heroin
Bangkok, June 14 Chung Cheung Panny Pau 43, of Hong Kong and Indian Daljeet Singh Dhaliwal 25, were arrested late yesterday, said Immigration Commissioner, police Lieut- General Suwat Thamrongsrisakul. The police found four packages of heroin worth about $ 1.1 million strapped to Dhaliwal's legs when he and Chung arrived at the airport for a flight to Hong Kong. — AFP
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100 suspected plague deaths in Congo
Geneva, June 14 It said 19 of the deaths were around the northeast Ituri district, which is known to be the most active area of human plague in the world with 1,000 cases each year. Some cases of bubonic plague had also been reported, the UN health agency added, but there were no figures. A team of specialists from the WHO, the Medecins sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders) relief agency and the Congolese Ministry of Health were in the area to assess the situation, it added. — Reuters
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