In his first official visit to India after assuming office in 2009, US Vice-President Joe Biden arrived on Monday on a four-day trip aimed at bolstering ties in key sectors of trade, energy, defence and security.
During his stay in India, Biden will hold meetings with top Indian leadership, including President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill, was received at the airport here by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and Indian envoy to the US Nirupama Rao.
Official sources said the focus will be on four key areas of economic and trade ties, energy and climate change, defence co-operation and a wide range of regional co-operation.
Biden, 70, had visited New Delhi in 2008 as a Senator. He will also hold talks with Vice President Hamid Ansari and Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.
Biden, who wanted to travel to India in the first term itself, began his trip with a visit to the Gandhi Smriti Museum to show his respect to the Father of the Nation.
All his meetings have been scheduled for 23rd July, at the end of which he would attend a dinner hosted in his honour by Ansari.
Biden would spend the next two days 24th and 25th July — in Mumbai, where he would meet business leaders at a round table and deliver a policy speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange.
He is expected to set up an “ambitious vision” for India- US relationship, in addition to attending a women’s empowerment event at IIT Mumbai.
He would leave for Singapore on 25th July. All this while, Jill would hold a series of health and nutritional events in New Delhi and Mumbai and visit the Taj Mahal in Agra.
Biden, however, would not be visiting the Taj Mahal.
The US Vice President, while speaking at the prestigious George Washington University last week had said, “One of the reasons why President (Barack) Obama called our relations with India, quote, ‘a defining partnership of the century ahead’ is that India is increasingly looking east as a force for security and growth in Southeast Asia and beyond”.
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Arab League backs Palestine in peace talks, doubts Israeli stance
The Arab League is “forming a political support network” for Palestine after it expressed wiliness to participate in the US-proposed peace talks with Israel. But the League’s assistant secretary general, Mohammed Sabih, expressed concerns that the Israeli stance on the issue may make it “negotiations for the sake of negotiations, going round in a vicious circle.” “Many in the Israeli government do not want an Arab peace initiative,” he added. The peace talks have remained stalled since September 2010, but US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will meet in Washington within “the next week or so.”
At least 75 people were killed and 412 others injured when two powerful shallow earthquakes on Monday jolted a remote mountainous province in northwestern China near Tibet, causing extensive devastation and triggering landslides.
The quakes with magnitudes of 6.6 and 5.6 struck Minxian and Zhangxian counties in Gansu Province.
Over 400 aftershocks had been recorded in the quake-hit region, with the strongest measuring 5.6 in magnitude, Chang Zhengguo, spokesman for the provincial government, said.
Official Xinhua news agency reported that the death toll has climbed to 75.
According to latest figures, 73 people were killed in Dingxi City and two in its neighboring Longnan City, said the Dingxi municipal government.
An initial survey showed that the quake had caused the collapse of more than 1,200 houses and severe damage to 21,000 homes.
Around 3,000 firefighters, armed police, soldiers and local government workers have been mobilised for the rescue.
Aftershocks and minor landslides with falling rocks were seen in the mountainous region, posing dangers for rescuers arriving at quake-hit villages.
In the villages in the seriously-hit Meichuan Township, of Minxian County, many rural buildings had been reduced to ruins and others had cracks in the walls, Xinhua reported.
A total of 31 people have been confirmed dead in Meichuan, according to rescuers.
Zhu Wenqing, a 40-year-old farmer in Majiagou Village in Meichuan said his house survived the first quake but eventually collapsed following seven or eight aftershocks.
Villagers said the victims were mainly elderly and children, who failed to escape from collapsing houses. President Xi Jinping has urged all-out rescue effort and put “saving life” as the top priority.
This is the second major quake to have hit China since April this year. Over 200 people were killed when a 7.0-magnitude quake hit the southwest Sichuan Province.
The epicentre of the quakes, with a depth of 20 km, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said. The strongest quake recorded around the fault zone was measured with a magnitude of 8.0 on July 21, 1654.
That one happened about 121 km from the site of the latest quake, it added. Locals in Minxian County said the quake on Monday morning lasted for about one minute.
Sources with the county government said most of its townships have been affected by the quake. Armed police, fire fighters and more than 300 local militiamen have been dispatched to the quake-hit region to help with the rescue efforts.
The provincial civil affairs department has sent 500 tents and 2,000 quilts. The Lanzhou Railway Bureau has initiated an emergency response to guarantee the safety of railway bridges and communication facilities in the province.
The earthquake was also felt in Tianshui City and Lanzhou as well as the cities of Xi’an, Baoji and Xianyang in neighbouring Shaanxi Province.
Iran invites Western leaders to presidential inauguration |
Iran has sent invitations to an array of world leaders to attend the August 4 inauguration of President Hasan Rouhani, Iran’s foreign ministry says. American and European leaders and officials were among those invited, but it has not elaborated on which individual leaders would be invited, spokesman Abbas Araghchi said. Israeli officials, which Iran does not recognize, would presumably not be included.
Archery World Cup: Indian women win recurve team gold
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World number 3 Deepika Kumari came up with a stunning effort to lead India to a commanding 201-186 win over China in Women’s Recurve Team Final at Archery World Cup Stage 3 being held in Medellin, Colombia.
Deepika had crashed out of the singles competition at the quarterfinal stage but she showed her class by hitting four 10s in tricky conditions to allow India to reclaim the Women’s Recurve Team gold after a two-year gap.
Bombayla Devi Laishram and Rimil Buriuly gave good support to Deepika as India beat China 201-186 to claim their second medal of this World Cup and their first World Cup Women’s team gold since Shanghai 2011.
Earlier, India clinched a bronze medal in the compound men’s team event to open their account. Rajat Chouhan, Sandeep Kumar and Ratan Singh Khuraijam overcame a stiff resistance from the hosts Colombia to win 215-210 en route to the bronze medal on Saturday.
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22072013
France’s Interior Minister defends ban on wearing full-face veils
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls defended on Monday the country’s ban on wearing full-face veils in public. A police check on a veiled Muslim woman in the southwest suburb of Trappes sparked an angry confrontation that led to a police station being surrounded by several hundred people on Friday night, some hurling rocks. “The law banning full-face veils is a law in the interests of women and against those values having nothing to do with our traditions and values,” Reuters quoted Valls as saying. The 2010 law targets burqa and niqab garments that conceal the face rather than the headscarf that is more common among French Muslim women.
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22072013
Lee Chong,Saina tops IBL auction 2013
Saina Nehwal’s call to be in her home team, the bid success for Hyderabad Hotshots for the Indian star for $120,000
The world number one Lee Chong Wei costliest of all , goes to Mumbai Masters for $135,000 in the inaugural Indian Badminton League’s players auction here today on Monday.
Malaysian shuttler, Lee Chong Wei, interesting bid franchises shuttling a bidding war between Mumbai Masters and the Delhi Smashers final bid in lap of Mumbai Masters.
PV Sindhu another rising star the big buy by Lucknow Warriors for $80,000.
The ever smiling doubles star Jwala Gutta went to Delhi Smashers at $31,000.
Another shuttling of rug war of bids between Delhi and Pune Piston, on Vietnamese Tinh Minh Nyugen was sold to the Pune at $44,000.
HS Prannoy sold at $ 16,000, Wong Wing Ki of Hongkong sold to Delhi Smasher for $20,000.
RMV Surusaidutt sold at $ 40,000 to Lucknow Warriors.
The six franchises in fray with details are PVP Group (Hyderabad), BOP Group (Bangalore), Krrish Group (Delhi), Sahara (Lucknow), Burman family (Pune) and consortium of cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, Telugu film star Akkineni Nagarjuna and former cricketer V Chamundeshwarnath (Mumbai) – have a cap of approximately $275,000 to fill the slot of 66 players.
The six franchises authorized to buy a total of 11 players each. Six of these will be from India, four foreign players and one Indian junior player.
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22072013
Nation-wide Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) programme to combat Anemia among Adolescent girls and boys
56% adolescent girls and 30% adolescent boys in India are affected by Anaemia
July 22, 2013, New Delhi: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and members from media met today to discuss the importance of Weekly Iron and Folic Acid (WIFS) Supplementation programme which is currently reaching out to 13 crore school-going girls and boys (class VI – XII) and out-of-school adolescent girls. Iron deficiency is the major cause of anemia that leads to reduced levels of haemoglobin (Hb) in the blood.
Adolescents (age 10-19 years), especially girls, are at high risk of iron deficiency and anaemia due to accelerated increase in requirements for iron, poor dietary intake of iron, malaria and worm infestation. Public health experts also attribute social and cultural factors such as early marriage, adolescent pregnancy and repeated pregnancies that make girls more vulnerable to iron deficiency and anaemia.
An estimated 56 per cent girls and 30 per cent boys in the age group 10-19 years in India are anaemic according to the third National Family Health Survey.
Considering the alarming situation, the Government of India is implementing the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) Supplementation (WIFS) programme since January 2013, under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in government/ aided and municipal schools (nationwide) and Anganwadi Centres across all states in India.
“Anaemia is a grave public health problem in India that has multifaceted adverse impact on human beings. It affects the cognitive performance, behaviour and physical growth of infants, pre-school and school going children. In adolescents, it affects physical growth, weakens cognitive development, reduces energy levels and work capacity”, said Mr Keshav Desiraju Secretary Health and Family Welfare, addressing the media. “In pregnant women, it enhances the risk of pre-term delivery and babies with low birth weight, especially in teenage pregnancies. Children of mothers who are severely anaemic are seven times as likely to become severely anaemic as compared to children of mothers who are not anaemic, thus perpetuating an intergenerational cycle of anaemia,” he added.
Mrs. Anuradha Gupta, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, NRHM said that “A multipronged approach is required to prevent and correct both iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia. This includes measures to improve iron intake through food-based approaches such as dietary diversification and food fortification, iron supplementation as well as improved health services and sanitation. In a scenario such as India, where it is difficult to influence dietary behavior due to widely varying food preferences and cultural practices, the first step towards addressing iron deficiency would be the implementation and scaling up of Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) Supplementation programme and management of all forms of Iron Deficiency Anemia”.
”Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) is an evidence based programme for addressing Iron Deficiency Anaemia which is both safe and effective. The miniscule number of cases where some adolescents have had some minor side-effects should not act as a deterrent to this very important public health initiative”, said Mrs Gupta while responding to questions on side-effects
World Health Organization also recommends weekly iron-folic acid supplementation for adolescents to build iron stores in the body.
The drive to combat adolescent anaemia includes – bi-annual (February and August) administration of Albendazole tablets to remove worm infections; weekly (Monday), supervised administration of IFA tablets (100 mg of elemental iron and 500 mg of folic acid);screening for moderate/severe anaemia and referral to nearest health facility; and, monthly nutrition and health education to encourage consumption of locally available iron-rich food.
“The WIFS programme targets both rural and urban areas. The programme provides a strategic focus on reducing adolescent anemia by not only improving physical capacity and increasing cognitive ability but also promotes improved pregnancy outcomes among girls and larger inter-generational benefits. The programme truly accentuates the spirit of ‘Solid Bano India’ campaign”, said Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Joint Secretary (RCH).
Public health experts including Dr. HPS Sachdev, Dr. Sheila Vir from Public Health and Nutrition Centre, Dr. Umesh Kapil from AIIMS and Dr. Vani Sethi from UNICEF also shared insights on the IFA tablets and WIFS programme. They explained “when iron tablet is taken for the first time, the body may find it little difficult to digest and symptoms such as stomachache and nausea may occur. However, if taken after food, the absorption will be little low but stomach ache and nausea will not occur. These side effects will eventually disappear once the tablet is regularly taken for a few weeks as the body adjusts to the iron tablets. Hard stools after consuming iron-folic acid tablet are harmless. The body takes the iron it needs and the extra iron is removed through faeces. To reduce side affects IFA tablets should be taken on full stomach. Taking any vitamin or nutrient is never restricted during an illness. In fact, it helps speedy recovery from illness by improving immunity of the body. Iron folic acid tablet can be taken during illness and even during menstruation.”
The event provided members of the media to engage with experts on the importance of IFA supplementation and the role of media in combating adolescent anaemia. Current data shows that slow release ferrous sulphate preparations remain the established and standard treatment of iron deficiency, irrespective of the indications, given their good bioavailability, efficacy and acceptable tolerability demonstrated in several large clinical studies. Weekly supplementation with iron and folic acid in menstruating women has been successfully implemented using different mechanisms in several countries (including Cambodia, Egypt, Laos, Philippines and Vietnam). Key program implementation issues such as training of teachers/functionaries and monitoring of the WIFS programme were discussed. There is renewed emphasis on training with special reference to supervised ingestion which ensures correct method of IFA tablet intake – not taken on an empty stomach and administered with a glass of water rather than being chewed or given in a crushed form.
Nutritionists also discussed several home-based and easily available solutions to keep anaemia away. These included easily available food such as spinach (palak, methi), dates (khajur), meat, fish, eggs and vitamin C rich foods (citrus fruits like Amla, Guava, Lemon). Overall, the discussions stressed on the need to focus on how the programme will contribute to the physical and cognitive development of adolescents.
For further information please contact:
§ Ms. Geetanjali Master, Communication Specialist, UNICEF: Mobile: +91-981 810 5861
§ Ms. Sonia Sarkar, Communication Officer, UNICEF: Mobile: +91-981 017 0289
Kind regards,
Sonia Sarkar
Communication Officer (Media), Advocacy & Communication Division,
Tel: +91 11 2460-6237, Mobile : +91-981-017-0289 , Email ssarkar@unicef.org
Communication Officer (Media), Advocacy & Communication Division,
Tel: +91 11 2460-6237, Mobile : +91-981-017-0289 , Email ssarkar@unicef.org
United Nations Children’s Fund
India Country Office, 73 Lodi Estate, New Delhi
Follow us on Facebook.com/unicef.india, twitter @unicefindia, YouTube and at www.unicef.org
India Country Office, 73 Lodi Estate, New Delhi
Follow us on Facebook.com/unicef.india, twitter @unicefindia, YouTube and at www.unicef.org
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Arun Jaitly:Why is the Congress Party Trying to communalise The 2014 Elections
22072013
Why is the Congress Party Trying to communalise The 2014 Elections
ARUN JAITLEY
A Congress Party spokesperson went to the extraordinary extent of rationalizing the formation and existence of the “Indian Mujahideen” The Indian Mujahideen is admittedly a terrorist organization. It is designated as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in India. Its’ ban has been continued by the UPA Government. It has been included in the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the US State Department. It is proscribed in the United Kingdom. Serious political observers are at a loss to understand why the Official spokesperson of the Congress Party could have rationalized the formation of Indian Mujahideen in India i.e. as an organization formed as a reaction against the riots in Gujarat in 2002.
The UPA is in the tenth year of its existence. As the General Elections approach the UPA is confronted with a huge anti-incumbancy. There is a visible leadership failure. Its’ leadership is seen to be ineffective. Its’ governance is highly inadequate. The government has run out of ideas on how to bring the economy back on rail. The UPA has added corruption as a new Directive principle of state policy. The ten year misrule of the UPA reflects on how ‘The Indian story’ was effectively destroyed. After UPA’s miserable track record of governance the need for an effective and clean government are the key agendas for the forthcoming General Elections.
The conventional Congress strategy has been that whenever they fail at governance then they go back to the last resort i.e. the alleged charisma of the Congress Party’s first family. Unfortunately that charisma appears to be inadequate. The outgoing leadership of the UPA is perceived to be ineffective ; the incoming are perceived to be non-leaders.
Faced with both the crisis of governance and a lack of leadership, the UPA ‘s desperate strategy appears to be to deflect the agenda. Under no circumstances must the destruction of ‘The India’s story’ by the UPA be allowed to occupy the centre stage of the electoral agenda. The UPA has therefore only one option left. Communalize the polity in the country and change the electoral agenda. All those who want to throw the UPA out of office must understand that their focus must remain on the issues of governance which the UPA will try to duck.
The last few weeks have witnessed a crude attempt by the UPA leaders at this strategy. There are three visible indicators of this. Firstly, the UPA has concentrated its’ attack on Narender Modi. In Gujarat the initial strategy of the Congress was to excessively attack Modi. Modi always excelled in this political battle with Congress. He got the better of them. Finding this strategy counter-productive the Congress would then go back to the alternate strategy of pretending that Modi did not exist as far as their campaign was concerned. At the Centre the Congress strategy in the first phase comprised excessively attacking Modi. In the process they are conceding the centrestage to them. Soon they will realize the counter productivity of their strategy and move back to the alternative practice of pretending to ignore Modi.
Secondly, the Union Government’s strategy through the CBI in the Ishrat Jehan’s case has puzzled many. The CBI strategy has been to play down and eventually ignore the LeT connection and uncover the entire security apparatus of this country. Why did the first charge sheet remained silent on the LeT connection of the alleged victims? Did the Intelligence Bureau pick up details about this module from its sources in Kashmir ? Was the security apparatus of India and our Intelligence agencies not entitled to intercept communications of LeT, keep surveillance on them and eventually interrogate them? Were all these steps intended to check terrorism or were they steps in conspiracy to commit a crime? The answer to this question would lie on whether the alleged victims had a LeT connection or not. The CBI as the investigative arm of the government chooses to maintain silence on the LeT connection. Who deleted para 168 in the NIA interrogation of David Hadley where this module was mentioned on the LeT module? Did the CBI go the extent of even discrediting the voice of recordings of the LeT operatives and their Indian connection? Has the CBI struck a deal with some policemen who allegedly indulged in the encounter and changed their character from an accused to a witness so that they could discredit the Intelligence and Security set up of the country? Without going into the veracity of the encounter or otherwise I raise the above questions since they indicate that a conscious effort is being made to project the LeT module as a martyr and India’s security and Intelligence set up as the villain. Is this a conscious pact of a strategy to perpetuate vote bank at the cost of national security?
Thirdly, it is in this context that Shakeel Ahmed’s statement on the Indian Mujahideen must be analysed. After 9/11 there was a huge global focus on various terrorist groups . Pakistan was being accused of perpetuating cross-border terrorism in India. 9/11 had brought a major pressure on Pakistan to distance itself and its’ soil from terrorist activities. The SIMI was banned by the NDA government. It was in this context that the Indian Mujahideen was formed. Pakistan wanted to create an organization which appeared to be Indian and have a lot of Indian operatives. The bomb-making techniques and the financing came from across the border. Its’ Indian credentials gave to Pakistan a scope for deniability every time a terrorist attack took place. Since its formation the Indian Mujahideen has been responsible for a large number of attacks in India. The Congress Party’s spokesman has sought to re-write history. His effort is to somehow paint the Indian Mujahideen as an organization of the aggrieved who are victims of riots in Gujarat. He ignores the international context and Pakistan’s strategy behind the creation of Indian Mujahideen. This is yet another desperate attempt to communalise an issue of National Security.
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