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Lahore Attack
Taliban kill 14 abducted Pak soldiers
Pak releases 12 Taliban prisoners
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Mutiny masterminds still want civil war: Hasina
Swat girl dreams of going to school
Ban on US funding for stem cell
research lifts today
MJ still a heart-throb
Hindu relic stolen from Thai museum
Beware! diabetes can lead to
dementia
George Orwell was in ‘love with his pal’s girl’ UK village up for sale for £22 m!
FBI team to probe BDR massacre
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Lahore Attack
Islamabad, March 8 “The indications are that it was one of our own homegrown groups, with possible linkages abroad,” said the government official
with knowledge of the investigation. The police has rounded up scores of suspects but has yet to announce a breakthrough in their investigation. “It’s a tough job. We’re connecting the dots. We’re making every effort to get to the bottom and hopefully we’ll do it,” said Salahuddin Niazi, the policeman heading the investigation. “Any word before finalising the investigation will benefit the criminals. Let’s finalise it, then we’ll be able to point the finger at someone or a group or groups,” he said. The Friday Times newspaper, citing a former high-ranking intelligence official in Punjab, said Al-Qaida-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militants were responsible for the attack. Speaking on conditions of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, the government official said groups such as the LeJ were highest on the list of suspects. Some of the explosives carried by the assailants were not available in Pakistan, he said. The official was dismissive of media speculation that India may have been behind the attack as payback for the assault by Pakistani militants on Mumbai in November. The News daily, in an editorial yesterday, also admonished Pakistani journalists for speculating on Indian involvement without evidence. “The fact is that any kind of truth will emerge only if we can carry out a proper, impartial investigation ... blind bias will take us nowhere,” The News said. The Dawn newspaper said on Friday investigators had ruled out the possibility of involvement by Indian agents or the LTTE from Sri Lanka. Members of the banned Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba were emerging as the most likely culprits, it said.
— Reuters
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Taliban kill 14 abducted Pak soldiers
Islamabad, March 8 The Taliban abducted the security personnel yesterday after an exchange of fire in Mohmand Agency, assistant administrative officer Rasool Khan said. Local residents found the bullet-riddled bodies of the securitymen in the mountainous areas of Omar Banda and Ayesha Kuroona today. The security forces collected the bodies, Khan said. The security forces also launched a major operation against those responsible for killing the security personnel, witnesses said. Troops blocked all roads in the area and initiated a search to catch the militants. Mohmand Agency is located near the restive Bajaur tribal region. Security officials believe the Taliban sneaked into Mohmand Agency after the army expelled them from Bajaur, where the army claims to have killed over 1,500 militants. In January, security forces launched a major offensive against militants in Mohmand Agency. The army has claimed it has killed around 60 militants in the area. The Taliban in Mohmand Agency are led by Omar Khalid. Local media reported in January that Khalid was killed in fighting with security forces but Taliban spokesman Ikramullah Mohm and denied these reports. — PTI
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Pak releases 12 Taliban prisoners
Islamabad, March 8 The release of the Taliban prisoners yesterday coincided with talks between NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and religious hardliners on implementing Shariat or Islamic law in the Swat and Malakand areas. The peace deal signed last month between the NWFP government and Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Mohammadi (TNSM), an outlawed group headed by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, envisages the enforcement of Shariat in Swat and Malakand. Information Minister Hussain told TNSM leaders that the implementation of Shariat and appointment of Qazis for Islamic courts will be finalised after discussions with Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti. Following the controversial pact, Sufi Mohammad began parleys with Taliban militants led by his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah. Several countries, including the US and India, have expressed concern over the peace deal. Though the authorities and the Taliban announced separate ceasefires to facilitate the parleys, the truce has been violated several times by the Taliban. The militants killed two soldiers in an attack on Tuesday. — PTI
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Mutiny masterminds still want civil war: Hasina
Dhaka, March 8 "The aim of the conspirators, who had staged the bloody incidents at BDR headquarters killing scores of brilliant army officers, was to trigger anarchy and push the country to the brink of a civil war.... They (mutiny masterminds) still want to set off a civil war," she said during a discussion at her Awami League party's meeting here yesterday. The 33-hour mutiny by the rebel BDR soldiers on February 25-26 had claimed 77 lives, 73 of them Army officers. However, Hasina said her government, which came to power after her party swept the December 29 general elections, had successfully tackled the crisis. She urged all to be alert so that the perpetrators could not commit similar crimes again in their bid to destroy the country's democracy, which was restored after the landmark polls following two years of state of emergency. Hasina also renewed her earlier pledge to bring the "killers and the conspirators" to justice, even if it required enacting new laws. — PTI
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Swat girl dreams of going to school
Islamabad, March 8 In an entry dated February 17 in her diary written for BBC Urdu, the seventh grade schoolgirl, who has assumed the pen name Gul Makai, said, “Today I started preparing for the examinations because after the peace deal there is a hope that girls’ schools could reopen.” Though Gul Makai’s school did reopen on February 23, her hopes were dashed soon after when Swat-based journalist Musa Khan Khel was killed by unidentified gunmen. “In the evening, my father broke the news of the death of a Swat journalist (Khan Khel). Mom is not feeling well. Our hopes of peace have been smashed,” she wrote. Gul Makai also wrote about Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of the Taliban in Swat, who “cried” for a long time on his FM radio channel. “He was demanding an end to military operation. He asked people not to migrate but return to their homes,” she wrote. — PTI
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Recession: Dont’ mind, it’s just in your mind?
The best way to beat the recession is to be optimistic. True. If you don’t believe it, try that most erudite of publications, ‘The Economic Journal’. Recession is largely caused by widespread pessimism among businesses and individuals, rather than being the result of any inherent systemic problems. So what you need to do to tackle re-cession is create optimistic beliefs.
At least these are the conclusions of a new research by Professors Ananish Chaudhuri, Andrew Schotter and Barry Sopher. They used economic decision-making experiments to simulate an extreme example of a real-life problem of co-ordinating actions. They concluded that: “Getting a message to co-ordinate is not enough. Each person must be convinced that others have received the same message and interpreted it in similar ways ... Thus in combating crises, we really need to think of innovative actions or social processes that generate optimistic beliefs.” This must make sense. I suppose you might say in the context of the current crisis that we need internationally co-ordinated action (in contrast to what I have written above!). But individual countries can be effective, too. One example of an action that generates greater confidence was the UK Government’s plan early on for major equity injections into UK banks, backed up by guarantees on bank debt to get lending going again. That did stabilise the UK banking system and seems to be becoming a model for other countries. The problem, of course, is not how to create an optimistic outlook but how to sustain it in the face of adversity. Barack Obama came into office on a huge wave of optimism, but in the two months since his inauguration the Dow Jones index has fallen by 20 per cent, the worst such performance for a century. Of course he cannot be held responsible at all for the plight of the US economy, but investors should note they should not be too audacious or too hopeful too
early. — By arrangement with The Independent
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Barbie turns 50
New York, March 8 One reason for her success is that all girls from young to old dream of having any one of her professions - from flight attendant to presidential candidate. And they can only envy the sheer inexhaustible depth of her wardrobe, which ensures that she’s always able to make a flawless appearance at the beach or on the red carpet. Barbie does have striking qualities, including long legs, an unrealistically slim waist and a generously sized bosom. These especially have upset her opponents. She has helped cement sexist cliches in every new generation introduced to her, much to the displeasure of feminists. Sociologists complain that her excessive penchant for accessories introduces young girls to consumerism. Scientists criticise her exaggerated proportions, saying it produces a desire among very young women to have be unrealistically thin and can increase a girl’s disposition for developing anorexia. None of this matters to Barbie’s fans. She has been a hit since Ruth and Elliot Handler, founders of Mattel, which makes the doll, introduced Barbie at a toy fair in New York in 1959. The idea came to Ruth Handler as she watched her daughter Barbara while she was playing. She favoured paper dolls she made herself - figures that were similar to grownups, not small children. Handler recognised that the world needed a teenaged doll. Soon after Barbie’s arrival came Barbie cars, Barbie horses, Barbie cosmetics, Barbie doll houses, and Barbie convertibles - just like in real life. Her appearance has changed somewhat over the decades and she now looks a bit friendlier. For Barbie’s birthday, Mattel even released an Angela Merkel Barbie, which doesn’t look like the German chancellor, rather like Barbie herself.
— DPA
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Ban on US funding for stem cell
research lifts today
Washington, March 8 Since August 9, 2001, researchers using new human embryos have had to look to the private sector for funding. Disgruntled scientists vociferously opposed the ban, which they said hampered the quest to cure debilitating diseases. Scientists aim to use stem cells to reconstruct organic tissue and replace any type of damaged cells. They also hope research into cell regeneration will eventually lead to cure for Parkinson’s, diabetes, paralysis and other degenerative diseases. Embryonic stem cells are primitive cells from early-stage embryos capable of developing into almost every tissue of the body. But the research has proven controversial. The cells used are taken from human embryos in the initial phase of their development.
— AFP
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MJ still a heart-throb
The 50-year-old pop star was mobbed by screaming fans as he took his two youngest children to see “Oliver!” at The Theatre Royal, West End, reported the dailymail.co.uk. Jackson dressed in a red and black jacket appeared pleased by the warm reception, smiling and waving at the fans. He signed autographs and shook hands before departing in a minibus. The kids, seven-year-old Prince Michael II and Paris aged 11, hid their faces as they were escorted through the crowd. At the show, the three were joined by Jackson’s friend Mark Lester, who played Oliver in the original 1968 film. Jackson is expected to return to Los Angeles this week. But he will be back in Britain in July for a series of ten performances at the O2 Arena. He had earlier announced that the concerts would be his last ever in the UK.
— PTI
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Hindu relic stolen from Thai museum
Bangkok, March 8 The stone bead, estimated to be 2,000 years old, was stolen on Thursday from the Bangkok museum, where it had been on display since December 19. The police said they suspected the thief removed a magnifying glass that was placed into the top of the glass case so visitors could better view the two-centimetre-wide bead. With the glass gone, a hole was left through which to snatch the antiquity, believed to be one of 50 remaining Surya beads worldwide, investigators said.
— DPA
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Beware! diabetes can lead to dementia London, March 8 Tali Cukierman-Yaffe, physician and researcher from TAU's Sackler School of Medicine, found that persons with diabetes were 1.5 more likely to experience cognitive (mental) decline, and 1.6 times more likely to suffer from dementia than those without diabetes. Her recent study suggests that higher-than-average levels of blood sugar may have a role in this relationship. “Our results send an important message to the public,” said Cukierman-Yaffe. “We have shown conclusively that there is a relationship between diabetes and cognitive dysfunction. This should be known by diabetics and their doctors. Knowledge is the first step towards action. Intact thinking is essential for managing the disease.” Early detection of visual problems, for example, can be treated with laser surgery if diagnosed early enough, and blindness can be avoided in some cases, said a TAU release. “Today, diabetes cannot be cured. We can however delay or prevent many of its complications,” said Cukierman-Yaffe. These findings have been published in Diabetes Care. — IANS
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George Orwell was in ‘love with his pal’s girl’ London, March 8 One missive reads: "I can't remember when I've enjoyed any expeditions so much as I did those with you. Especially that day in the wood along Blythburgh Lodge -- you remember, where the deep beds of moss were. I shall always remember that, and your nice white body in the dark green moss....” In another Orwell writes: "Don't forget Tuesday, 2.15 pm by Smith's bookshop. And as you love me, do not change your mind before then. Till then, with all my love." The letters, written under Orwell's real name of Eric Arthur Blair between 1931 and 1933 when he was struggling to get his work published, have have been described as “the most revealing documents in existence" about the English author, The Daily Telegraph reported. The letters to Jaques have also revealed Orwell's deep insecurities about their illicit relationship, and his desire not to offend Collings, his friend and love rival. In a missive dated October 19, 1932, he writes: "I hope you will let me make love to you again some time, but if you don't, it doesn't matter. I shall always be grateful to you for your kindness to me....” The rare letters by Orwell, whose famous works include two novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, are to go on sale here this month. Orwell's biographer D J Taylor said: “These letters are among the most revealing documents in existence on Orwell, who was a very private man. “He was never someone who revealed very much about himself, even to his friends, so letters that show him talking about himself like this, particularly before he was successful and famous, are unusual." — PTI
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UK village up for sale for £22 m! London, March 8 Well, your imagination could turn into reality if you have some £22.5 million to spare, for an entire English village, complete with two blacksmiths, a shop and a cricket club, has been put up for sale for that amount. Nestled in the rolling countryside of North Wessex Downs, the historic English village of Linkenholt with its 22 houses and cottages is part of a 2,000-acre estate that will go on the market later this month. — PTI
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London, March 8