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FBI warns against Net frauds on Haiti relief
Nepal Maoists protest on eve of Krishna visit
Maharashtra allows Neetu to resume study
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Pak Taliban chief killed
in drone attack?
Water behind Kashmir dispute: Zardari
16 peacekeepers confirmed dead
Aussie institute shut, Indians in lurch
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FBI warns against Net frauds on Haiti relief
Washington, January 14 “The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests,” it said in a statement. The FBI issued the warning after detecting such solicitation on the Internet. “Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organisation and/or a good cause,” it said. Before making any donation, it urged netizens not to respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages and be sceptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites. It also asked people to verify the legitimacy of non-profit organisations by utilising various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group's existence and status rather than following a purported link to the site. “Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders,” the alert said. It asked donors to make contributions directly to known organisations rather than relying on others to make the donation on their behalf. Speed up aid: Obama
US President Barack Obama today reached out to regional leaders to galvanise international humanitarian support and rush aid for the victims of the deadly quake that left Haiti devastated. Over the course of the day, Obama spoke with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Canadian Premier Stephen Harper and Presidents Lula Da Silva, Felipe De Jesus Calderon and Veronica Michelle Bachelet of Brazil, Mexico and Chile, respectively. He also spoke with the US Ambassador to Haiti Ken Merten on the on-going efforts to assist the Caribbean nation in the wake of the 7.0 temblor that flattened buildings and left the country's communication system paralysed. "The President expressed his deepest sympathies to Secretary General Ban and President Lula for the losses suffered by the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)," the White House said. However, efforts to contact President Rene Garcia Preval of Haiti have not proven successful, it said. But Ambassador Merten relayed to Obama "a conversation he had with President Preval earlier in the day, in which the Ambassador conveyed the deep condolences and unwavering support of the American people," the White House said. —
PTI
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Nepal Maoists protest on eve of Krishna visit
On the eve of Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s three-day visit to Nepal, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists, the main opposition party of the neighbouring nation, on Thursday torched copies of the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty-1950, dubbing the document as an “unequal” agreement.
The Maoists, who have been carrying out a series of protests to highlight alleged encroachment of Nepal’s territory by India, torched copies of the treaty in Kathmandu and the districts bordering India. The act was part of Nepal Maoists’ symbolic protests against alleged encroachment near the border. They also demanded scrapping of all treaties signed with India and the “need to update them in accordance with the changed political scenario”. Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna is arriving in Kathmandu on Friday on a three-day visit at the invitation of Nepal Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala. While staying in Nepal, Krishna would hold talks with the government officials on contentious bilateral issues and border-security related issues. Besides, he will meet senior leaders of different political parties and try to bridge up widening crisis of confidence between the two countries. Krishna will also meet Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the meeting being held at a time when his party is in the midst of its nationwide campaign aimed at “exposing Indian intervention in Nepal’s internal affairs and encroachment in bordering area”.
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Maharashtra allows Neetu to resume study
Finally, reviewing its decision to deport Neetu Singh, a Nepali student in Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune by the Pune police last month, the Maharastra government has decided to allow her to get back and continue further study there.
According to a source, the Maharastra government on Wednesday withdrew its deportation order to Singh, wife of former lawmaker and leader of Nepali Congress Amaresh Kumar Singh, who was suddenly deported by the Pune police on December 5 on charge of being involved in anti-Indian activities. However, it was not specified exactly what she had done wrong that went against the interests of the Indian government. When approached for their remarks over the latest decision taken by the Indian authorities, her family members expressed ignorance. Almost three weeks later, Singh, 32, and her family members had told the media that her husband Amaresh Singh, a PHD student in JNU, was behind the scene and influenced the Indian authorities for her sudden deportation and ruin her career as she refused to abide his command. In response to the Neetu’s family’s allegation, Amaresh, who proclaims himself as most trustworthy person of Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoists Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, including New Delhi, had claimed that he had become real victim as some Nepal and Indian media tried to drag him in controversy over her mysterious deportation. Dubbing herself as innocent, Neetu Singh had requested that being a major democracy in the world India should review its decision saying’ “This involves my honor and dignity and my right to pursue my education as free citizen of Nepal and the world.”
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Pak Taliban chief killed
in drone attack?
Leader of the Taliban Hakeemullah Mehsud, who had taken the responsibility for the deadly suicide attack on a CIA base camp in Afghanistan, appears to have been killed in a drone attack in South Waziristan, a senior security official said in Peshawar on Thursday.
The attack had left 10 persons dead, amongst them were three militant commanders, the official said. A Taliban spokesman, however, claimed that Mehsud escaped the attack. “It is immaterial to say how many have been killed in the attack. The important thing for us is whether Hakeemullah is amongst those killed”, the official said. The Taliban have denied the TTP chief has been killed. TTP spokesman Azam Tariq said he and Hakeemullah both were safe.
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Water behind Kashmir dispute: Zardari
President Asif Ali Zardari has said resolution of the Kashmir dispute is also linked to water supply to Pakistan’s rivers flowing through Kashmir that constitute lifelines for Pakistani agriculture.
“Water is the main reason behind Kashmir dispute that is why dams are being built across the country and loans worth $700 million have been taken for their construction,” Zardari said while addressing PPP activists in Governor House Lahore.
The President is on a weeklong trip to Punjab, first since assuming office in September 2008. Country’s main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif left Lahore for foreign trips a day before Zardari’s arrival amid widely-held view that they have deliberately dealt a snub to him.
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16 peacekeepers confirmed dead
United Nations, January 14 "Our hearts and minds today are with the people of Haiti," Ban said. Meanwhile, peacekeepers from Brazil and India are carrying out rescue activities and ensuring security in the quake devastated country. A rescue team from China has already arrived, and teams from US and Dominican Republic are expected to land shortly, officials said. —
PTI
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Aussie institute shut, Indians in lurch The Australian Dream continues to sour and so does Australia’s image of a favoured educational destination. After three major attacks since the start of the year, it is now the turn of a private vocational institute to abruptly shut down in Brisbane on Wednesday, leaving over 50 Indian students in the lurch. Spike Hair Academy - a two decade-old hairdressing institute with an overwhelming majority of Indian students - declared bankruptcy without prior warning. The government, however, has been quick to promise all support to students, including alternative arrangements for their education. In the state of Victoria alone, which has the highest concentration of students from India, the education of around 1,200 Indian students has been disrupted since June 2009 following closure of seven vocational educational institutes. In addition, the Victorian Government has ordered closure of an eighth college which, however, has got a temporary judicial stay, thus leaving the fate of 85 more Indian students in limbo. This takes the total number of affected Indian students in Victoria to nearly 1,300. In addition, the education of scores of more Indian students has been rudely disrupted in the state of New South Wales, more specifically Sydney. Only two educational institutes, which have been ordered to shut down by the Victorian government, figure in the list of 41 colleges currently undergoing a ‘special audit’ after being identified as ‘high risk’. This means that there are still 39 more ‘high risk’ educational institutions undergoing a special audit, some of which face a danger of closure. This could mean disruption in their education for more Indian students. The six other institutes, which did not figure in the list of ‘high risk’ category and yet have shut down in the last six months, have done so after they found their anticipated income flows falling. Observers here fear that many more vocational institutions may take the same route because of dramatic reductions in student intake due to the tightened student visa regime and with Australia’s image taking a beating. There has been a 46 percent drop in Indian student visa applications for the period July to October 2009 compared to the corresponding period in 2008. Many education providers here had apparently made their business plans on the assumption that the intake of students from India would continue to grow. The over 110,000 Indian students currently in Australia, which comprise the second largest number of overseas students and were slated to overtake the Chinese before the spate of violence against Indian student forced a reassessment of the education sector, are mostly concentrated in and around Melbourne contributing significantly to Australia’s A$ 15-17 billion education industry. Following the expose of the Australian education system being used as a cover for backdoor migration amounting to what some commentators here have termed as ‘people smuggling’, the Australian authorities have reacted by not only reassessing the operations of many of the private vocational training colleges but by also severely tightening immigration standards while awaiting the results of a major review of its student visa policies. In the past few months a considerable percentage of Indian student visa applications to Australia have been rejected, which seems to confirm allegations that the laxity of the previous visa regime had led to an influx of ‘sub-standard’ students from India.
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The FBI issued an urgent "fraud alert" today warning potential donors to be cautious while responding to unsolicited emails and advertisements on the Internet.
