Musharraf’s son defends his dad in cyberspace

Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf’s son Bilal and rock band Junoon’s guitarist Salman Ahmed, who till recently were good pals, are now clashing in cyberspace over the imposition of emergency in Pakistan.
Ahmed, who was a supporter of Musharraf’s policies especially his stand against terrorism and his vision of “enlightened moderation”, has been prolific on the cyberspace, calling the President a “dictator” and “Pharaoh”, since the imposition of emergency on November 3.

This provoked an angry response from Bilal. In his letters, which have now been taken off most websites, Bilal has accused Ahmed who he says was a close friend and a spiritual guide of sorts since 1998 — of indulging in “venomous rhetoric” against his father.

“If Salman feels the need to neutralise the burden of prior public contact with my father with his venomous rhetoric, I find it not just unjust but truly unfair. Looking back today, I am unable to decide whether his motivation for prior public overtures towards my father were selfless or selfish in nature,” Bilal wrote.

In his response, New York-based Ahmed wrote that despite their close friendship, “My support for your father’s government was never meant to be taken as a blank cheque for the state machinery to run amok.” Bilal also said Ahmed’s association with Musharraf was part of a “marketing strategy” by the rock musician.

Noting that “rock musicians don’t usually like hanging out with military dictators”, Ahmed wrote: “I wrote many candid e-mails to you in August and September of this year, sharing my concern about your father’s policies and his government’s high-handed tactics.

“You responded by saying I was too harsh to which I reminded you that true friends are not meant to be mistaken for sycophants and cronies but are a true barometer of the public’s perception.

The open letters have generated a great deal of debate in cyberspace, with many accusing Bilal of “attacking” Ahmed.

Source: mumbaimirror.com

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Don’t purchase their diamonds

July 24, 2007: Two robbers snatch a bag containing diamonds worth Rs 62 lakh from Ketan M Patel, a Dubai-based diamond merchant, near the Pancharatna Building in Charni Road. Four months later, they land in the police net one after another, without being able to sell a single diamond from the loot.
The D B Marg Police pushed the two thieves - Rauf Habib Sheikh alias Bablu and Nasir Yasin Sheikh alias Raja Kida - into a corner by alerting diamond traders all the way up to Jaipur that the two would try to sell the loot.

On Sunday, the D B Marg Police picked up Bablu from Koparkhairane and recovered diamonds worth Rs 36 lakh from his home in Kharghar.

Kida had already been arrested earlier and diamonds worth Rs 26 lakh recovered from him.

“We went to all markets in Mumbai, Surat, Ajmer and Jaipur informing diamond merchants about the robbery and warning them against buying anything from the suspects. If they did, we said they would land in trouble,” said Sub-inspector V Parkar.

Senior Inspector N R Mali said, “After the incident, we zeroed in on the suspects. We knew we would get them soon, but what worried us was that they would try to sell all the diamonds in the meantime. That’s why we took this step to frustrate them. Some merchants in Surat informed us that Bablu and Kida had approached them.”

THE INVESTIGATION

The police, through their informants, came to know that Kida and Bablu were behind the robbery. But finding them was a tough task as they kept changing their homes. “In the past four months, they had changed places 10 times,” Mali said.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch Unit II stumbled upon Kida in August while investigating a different case. They even recovered some diamonds, but showed them as stones stolen from Hyderabad.

The DB Marg Police, however, were convinced that the Crime Branch had their man and thus took him into their custody. On interrogation, Kida confessed and gave the police diamonds worth Rs 26 lakh.

The police then went looking for Bablu, who kept dodging them by shifting to different places in the state. On Sunday, however, the police got information that Bablu would come to Koparkhairane for some work. They laid a trap and arrested him.

Source: mumbaimirror.com

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ULCRA out, Versova car shed in

The repealing of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act has done a world of good for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the first phase of the Mumbai Metro Rail project.

The 30-acre land at Versova, where a car shed will be constructed for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro link, has been declared surplus after the repeal. According to ULCRA, any land measuring 5,000 square kilometres is declared surplus and can be claimed by the government.

The land was under litigation for the past two years resulting in delay of the first phase of the project. Sources said that authorities at Mumbai Metro One - the consortium of Reliance Energy, MMRDA and Veolia Transport - wanted to set the ball rolling only after the car shed issue was sorted out.

MMRDA officials said the government has cleared the road map to acquire the land through various means which include cash, compensation, negotiation and transfer of development rights which in all probability would be applied.

The issue

The government wanted to acquire the land free of cost under ULCRA and initiated a process with the additional collector in 2005. MMRDA officials said in the meantime, many claimants appealed to the additional revenue commissioner who said the land cannot be declared as surplus.

In June 2006, the first phase of the Metro Rail Project was inaugurated and in August 2006, the government began the process of land acquisition.

MMRDA, meanwhile, worked out a plan, according to which the car shed would come up on one side and the owners could use the remaining portion for commercial purposes. Sources said that as modalities were being worked out between the MMRDA and the owners, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh intervened, saying the land should be declared surplus. This agitated the owners who moved the High Court on the grounds that on one hand MMRDA was negotiating with them, while on the other the Chief Minister was going on record declaring the land as surplus.

Current status of phase I

Completed: Topographic survey, geo-technical survey, condition survey of adjoining structures, logistic survey, station survey, utility survey, soil investigations, mock-up trials for girder movement and for traffic management, conceptual designs for the via duct and all 12 stations

Currently underway: Station access management study, feasibility for leadership in energy and environmental design for the project, environment impact assessment.

Source: mumbaimirror.com

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Hearing commences in Rani Mukherjee land case

Kopargaon (Maharashtra) (PTI): Hearing by the Ahmednagar district administration in the Rs 33-lakh fake land deal case involving Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee commenced on Tuesday.

The hearing involving Mukherjee and Sampat More has been adjourned till December 31.

"The lawyers of Rani Mukherjee and More presented their arguments. But no decision has been taken and the hearing has been adjourned till December 31," Sub-Divisional Magistrate Srirampur, Nandkumar Suryavanshi, told PTI.

Mukherjee was duped of Rs 33 lakh in a land deal in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.

The actress bought a plot in the pilgrim town, hoping to build a house but was duped into paying for land belonging to the State Farming Corporation. The plot is yet to receive the required government clearance.

The actress had bought 1,100 sq mt of land near Nimgaon Korhade at Shirdi, 271 km north of Mumbai, in December 2005 from More for Rs 33 lakh.

The Corporation had given agricultural land slightly above a hectare, on a conditional basis, to Raman Kshirsagar, a farmer, in 1977. Kshirsagar sought non-agricultural status for part of the land to set up a brick kiln.

Although the status was granted, Kshirsagar carved up the land and sold it to 17 buyers instead of setting up the kiln. One of the buyers was More, who in turn sold it to Mukherjee.

"The land could be seized by the administration. But Mukherjee could still own the land if she is permitted to regularise it by paying fine of Rs 21 lakh or more (75 per cent of the current land price), after its valuation is done," Suryavanshi said.

hindu.com

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US-Iran 'nuclear game' goes on

Iran's first reaction to the best news it had heard for a long time was - silence.

For more than 12 hours, state media did not even mention the new US intelligence assessment that said Iran no longer had an active nuclear weapons programme.

It was almost as if it was too good to be true. The authorities simply could not believe their ears.

Now they have regained their balance, the mood in Tehran is little short of triumphalist.

The foreign ministry says the new assessment shows that everything US President George W Bush says on the nuclear issue is "unreliable and fictitious".

Iranian TV has been covering the report full time, with lengthy discussions all devoted to the theme of "we told you so".

Enriched uranium concerns

But what has really changed?

To hear Mr Bush's recent remarks warning of the threat of "World War III", you would think Iran was putting the finishing touches to its first nuclear warhead.

But the case against Tehran has never relied on such alarmist assessments.

The argument the West puts is that Iran is developing a technology - uranium enrichment - that could be used to help produce a nuclear weapon at some date in the future. And that danger remains the case whatever Iran's current intentions.

There is the question of why Iran developed this technology in secret.

And there is the larger issue of why Iran needs peaceful nuclear power at all, when, according to the oil company BP, it possesses the world's largest combined reserves of oil and gas.

Indeed, while Iran is working to produce enriched uranium, which it says is for peaceful purposes, it is pleading with Moscow to provide it with nuclear fuel for the reactor just being completed at Bushehr.

In fact, some diplomats here believe any enriched uranium Iran produces is not and could not be used at Bushehr, for both technical and political reasons.

'Power play'

But even if Iran does not need peaceful nuclear power, it does not follow that this programme has a military end.

Indeed, the new US intelligence assessment only lends strength to what many Western diplomats here already believe, and Iran consistently claims. There is no active Iranian military nuclear programme.

If not military, nor entirely peaceful, then why?

As one Iranian analyst once said to me, only half joking, if the Americans were not opposed to it, the Iranians would stop their nuclear programme tomorrow.

In other words, it is a power play.

By defying Washington, the Iranian regime is using the nuclear issue to strengthen its hand, just in the way North Korea did so successfully.

Conversely, there are those in Washington, probably including Vice President Dick Cheney, certainly including former UN ambassador John Bolton, who would like to use the nuclear issue to unseat the Iranian regime.

If that is the case, then whether Iran intends to produce a nuclear weapon is, in a strange sense, almost academic. It is the challenge to US power that is all important.

'Another twist'

Iran's main aim, according to this interpretation of events, is to secure the regime and strengthen its power in the world.

This is exactly the opposite of Israel's feared scenario, which is that Iran is building itself up for one last suicidal strike at the "Zionist entity".

This view of the nuclear programme as a "power play" is strengthened by the latest US intelligence assessment. But the assessment itself does not necessarily end the game. It just changes the balance of power.

After this report, the chance of military action by the US, already considered fairly small, becomes even smaller. It will also make it harder for Washington to secure the tougher sanctions it has already called for.

The new assessment will strengthen Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hand, at least in the short term. He will no doubt claim he faced down the "Great Satan" and won.

But in reality, this is just one more roll of the dice, another twist in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran that has been going on since the Islamic revolution in 1979 and shows no sign at all of ending.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

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Cancer cases 'to increase a third by 2020'

Cases of cancer are expected to increase by a third by 2020 with nearly 300,000 people having the disease diagnosed each year, according to a landmark government report published yesterday.

The five-year Cancer Reform Strategy said the ageing population, obesity epidemic and rise in lifestyle cancers would cause the rise in the number of people having cancer diagnosed each year.

Over half of all cancers could be prevented if people adopted healthy lifestyles such as stopping smoking, avoiding obesity, eating a healthy diet, undertaking a moderate level of physical activity, avoiding an excessive alcohol intake and avoiding excessive exposure to the sun.

The new strategy includes plans to speed up drug approval, more money for radiotherapy services and a possible clampdown on sunbeds and cigarette vending machines.

But after Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, announced a £680 million plan for improving cancer services yesterday the Government came under fire for pouring more money into the battle against the illness with little effect.

Mr Johnson said that the national Cancer Reform Strategy would be underpinned by a £370 million investment by 2010. But The Times has learnt that the cost of the five-year plan will actually be much greater, with the Government banking on saving £310 million by making the NHS more efficient to help to fund an expansion of screening, staff and equipment.

Opposition parties immediately accused the Government of wasting the money it has already invested in tackling the disease, which kills about 125,000 people in England each year.

The amount spent on treating cancer in England has grown by more than a quarter in the last three years, but cancer survival is still below the European average.

Under the new strategy, ministers have earmarked £130 million to improving radiotherapy services, but emphasised that savings would be needed by treating more patients outside hospital or shortening the amount of time they spend on wards.The remainder will come out of money allocated for the NHS in this year’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

According the the strategy’s figures, cancer programmes — which currently cost £4.35 billion a year — will continue to rise by an extra £70 million a year. This is on top of the cost of new cancer drugs, which is growing at over £100 million a year.

A national programme to vaccinate 12-year-old girls against human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer, will also cost £100 million a year, plus an extra £200 million for catch-up programmes.

Breast and bowel cancer screening programmes are also due to be extended but Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, declared that such plans were at risk because of the Government’s “inability” to secure value for money in the NHS.

Gordon Brown met campaigners and clinicians in Downing Street to state that the strategy set out a “comprehensive approach” to cutting cancer in the years ahead.

Mr Johnson later officially announced the new measures in Whitehall alongside the National Clinical Director, Professor Mike Richards and claimed progress had been made since 2000.

“Fewer patients need to stay in hospital for long periods. They can be treated as day care cases, they can be treated in the community,” he said.

The toll

38% of deaths under the age of 75 are due to cancer — the highest figure for a single cause

25% of people surveyed said that cancer was the thing they most feared, over a heart attack or terrorism

5.2% of NHS spending in England goes on cancer

6 The number of cancers that are strongly linked to obesity — kidney, womb, gallblader, colon, throat and breast in post-menopausal women

£80 The amount per head of population that is spent on cancer in England. This compares with £121 in France and £143 in Germany

Source: timesonline.co.uk

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Sue what?

Suresh Wadkar is now embroiled in a fresh controversy about his attitude on Jjhoom India. The singer refuses to re-perform in the Wild Card entry segment as he feels that he is too senior to bear the ignominy that ensues from performing with the ousted contestants. He says that things are worse for him as his co-performer Shweta Tiwari doesn't know how to even hum a song.

This has upset the channel guys (SaharaOne). They can, as per contract, sue Wadkar if he gives the Wild Card segment a miss. Wadkar, however, has turned a deaf ear to the channel's communication.

Confirming that Wadkar has turned down the Wild Card offer, Kalyan Sundaram (Programming Head, SaharaOne) "Wadkar had problems with Apara Mehta earlier. After Apara got eliminated, he paired up with Shweta. Now, he's telling us that Shweta is not a good singer."

Wadkar, it seems, has taken to his elimination rather seriously. "I don't understand why. He needs to understand that the actor (non-singer) gets eliminated and not the professional singer. I am shocked at his behaviour," Sundaram endorses. "We came to know only yesterday. We thought he would give in. I can't say what will happen to Shweta's chances in the contest. She is a decent singer, and for her sake, I hope she settles down with the replacement. Anyway, I am meeting Wadkar, once again. If Wadkar agrees to return, nothing like it," Sundaram adds.

Our source reveals that there's more to the story than just Shweta being a poor singer. "Wadkar does not get along very well with Shweta," the source informs.

Wadkar tells us that he will not budge. "I have decided that I will not return. One needs to understand that the entire pairing in the show is wrong. Why have they selected a singer like Shweta? The format says that the actor should have some singing talent but Shweta doesn't have it at all. Gaana to door ki baat lekin who to geet gunguna bhi nahin sakti (forget singing, she can't even hum a tune)."

Wadkar further admits that he does not face the humiliation of being ousted once again. "I don't want to be eliminated again, which is most likely to happen. Main besharam aadmi nahin hoon (I am not shameless). I am a senior singer."

Source: mumbaimirror.com

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