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Indian among 4 killed in gas leak
Over 120 feared dead in Indonesia landslides, floods
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Hilton's grandfather pledges $ 2.3b
to charity
China for joint military exercises with India
Court rejects Hindu woman’s appeal on conversion
Theft of Vishnu statues
Scientists claim to create cloned pigs
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Indian among 4 killed in gas leak
Dubai, December 27 The interior ministry sources were quoted as saying by the Arab Times that two Kuwaiti children and two maids were killed in the incident. “Four other persons in the house who inhaled the toxic gas had been admitted to the hospital in critical condition and the house had been sealed to carry out forensic examinations,” they said. According to sources, the basement was leased to a major food company to store foodstuffs. The company had sprayed pesticides around the foodstuff to prevent the material from getting infested, they added. Meanwhile, in another incident, an Indian was allegedly shot in the eye with a toy pistol by two Kuwaiti youths. “The youth stopped the Indian for asking directions to a house and shot him in the eye with a toy pistol,” Kuwaiti police was quoted as saying by the Al Anba daily. “The plastic bullet pierced the cornea of the Indian but he somehow managed to note down the plate number of the youngsters which helped the police in arresting them,” they added.
— PTI
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Over 120 feared dead in Indonesia landslides, floods
Mogol, December 27 Officials said thousands of people have been left homeless after their houses were submerged by floods or buried by landslides in villages near the Bengawan Solo river, which lies about 500 km from Jakarta. About 40 persons were missing after floods swept away a bridge in Madiun district in east Java province yesterday, a local police officer said. In neighbouring Central Java province, about 1,000 rescuers, the police and the soldiers tried to unearth 26 people buried in mud from steep slopes in Tawangmangu, a hilly area that had been hardest hit by landslides on Java. Rescuers had to use manual equipment, spraying the mud with water to soften it. “We are only left with basic tools, such as spades and ploughs, yet we face a 7-to 9-metre (yard) blanket of mud,” local police chief Rikwanto said. Workers pulled out 12 more bodies today, bringing the confirmed death toll to 48, said Heru Pratomo, head of the disaster relief agency in Karang Anyar district, of which Tawangmangu is a part. Another body was
found and 14 were still missing in two neighbouring districts, rescue officials said.
— Reuters
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Hilton's grandfather pledges $ 2.3b
to charity
Silicon Valley (USA), December 27 Barron Hilton, 80, is giving the money to the Conrad N Hilton Foundation, a charity founded by his father in 1944. The contribution, which is to come from the sale of Hilton Hotels Corporation and the pending sale of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. after the money is placed in a trust, is the largest in the foundation's history and will bring its value to about $ 4.5 billion. "We are all exceedingly proud and grateful for this extraordinary commitment," Hilton's son Steven M Hilton, president and chief executive of the organisation, said in a statement yesterday. Barron Hilton, chairman of the foundation, pledged an immediate $ 1.2 billion donation to the foundation, with an estimated $ 1.1 billion to follow after his death, according to the media here. In keeping with Conrad Hilton's directive that the foundation be global in its reach, more than 50 per cent of its grants annually are directed to international initiatives. The foundation concentrates most of its funding on major long-term projects that will affect systemic change. The Hilton hotel chain consists of over 500 hotels around the world. The foundation has been a pioneer in providing water and sanitation systems for villagers in developing countries; supportive housing for mentally ill homeless and homeless mothers and children in the US; blindness prevention and treatment worldwide; drug abuse prevention among youth; and early childhood education for children with disabilities. Since its inception, the foundation has committed more than $ 560 million to charitable work throughout the world.
— PTI
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China for joint military exercises with India
Beijing, December 27 "China and India are important countries in Asia and two important neighbours. We hope such activities will be increased so that they can be helpful in improving the stability and security of this region,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said here. He said India and China held the joint anti-terrorism drill in Yunnan province in south-west China in accordance with a "consensus" reached between the two countries. Asked if China was open to the idea of scaling up the military-to-military ties with India to make the joint military exercise a regular feature, he said, "as for future activities and institutionalising such activities, we have a constructive attitude and we welcome India to provide us with comments and suggestions."
— PTI
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Court rejects Hindu woman’s appeal on conversion
Malaysia, December 27 Her case is another sign of strain in the social fabric of the multi-racial nation, where many non-Muslims believe that their rights are being trampled by the Muslim majority. R. Subashini took legal action after her husband converted himself and their elder son, now four, to Islam in 2006. She now fears because her husband wants to take their two-year-old, who still lives with her, and convert him to Islam as well. The Federal Court rejected her request for an injunction on technical grounds, leaving her free to try again, but one judge noted the court’s jurisdiction was limited, given the husband was now a Muslim and therefore governed by Islamic or sharia law.
— Reuters
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Theft of Vishnu statues The education and culture minister of Bangladesh quit military-backed caretaker government on Wednesday amid public uproar surrounding the theft of two 1500-year-old Vishnu statues destined for a controversial exhibition in France. Ayub Quadri is the first minister, officially called adviser to the caretaker government, to quit the military-backed government since it took over on January 11, 2007. Quadri cited personal reasons, but government officials have told the press that he sent his letter of resignation on Wednesday afternoon to take responsibility for the theft of the two valuable statues. “I don’t know if it’s my personal failure. But as the adviser of the ministry, I must shoulder the responsibility,” Quadri told in a press conference. The former career bureaucrat took the decision despite reported attempts by his cabinet colleagues to dissuade him. The government has bore the brunt of the public attack after two statues were stolen from Dhaka’s Zia International Airport on Friday moments before they were to be loaded on a plane, carrying 145 rare Bangladeshi artifacts, destined for a controversial exhibition at Paris’s Guimet Museum. The decision by the government to send the artifacts drew sharp criticism from public intellectuals, who feared for the safety and future of the rare statues. The French government said the theft is part of a conspiracy.
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Scientists claim to create cloned pigs
Seoul, December 27 Unlike the traditional cloning method using somatic cells, the scientists said they had used stem cells extracted from pigs’ bone marrow to obtain cloned embryos- much improving the success rate. The scientists wanted to clone smaller-than-normal pigs weighing between 60-80 kg when adult, since their organs would be a similar size to human ones. “This is a highly efficient method to produce cloned mini-pigs,” said Seong Hwan-Hoo, a senior researcher with the National Institute of Animal Science. Embryos cloned using somatic cells have only a 1 to 5 per cent chance of survival, the team said. Using stem cells, this can be increased to 20
per cent. — AFP
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Landslides and floods triggered by heavy rain have left more than 120 persons dead or missing on Indonesia’s Java Island, as rescuers struggled today to pull out bodies buried under thick mud.
