News, Views and Information about NRIs.

A NRI Sabha of Canada's trusted source of News & Views for NRIs around the World.



October 8, 2011

New rules to stop Indian workers settling in UK

LONDON: UK announced that Indian and other non-EU professionals will have to return to their countries of origin after their work visaexpires instead of being allowed to settle here after working for five years.

Currently, immigration rules allow non-EU professionals to settle in Britain indefinitely after working for five years.

This provision is likely to be soon scrapped under the David Cameron government's plans to cut immigration.

Setting out several measures the Cameron government had taken since assuming office in 2010, Home secretary Theresa May said: "Under Labour, temporary immigration led to an automatic right to settle here. So we're breaking that link, making sure that immigrants who come here to work go home at the end of their visa".

Speaking at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, May drew applause as she announced changes to immigration rules that would enable officials to deport foreign nationals who commit crimes in Britain, and seek to stay on using the right to family life under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

Earlier, immigration minister Damian Green reiterated the government's commitment to tighten immigration rules, and cited two examples from Delhi to allege abuse of the visa system for students and workers.

Recalling the annual cap of 21,700 for foreign workers, Green said: "I saw, in our office in Delhi, a man being interviewed for his visa. He said he was coming for a skilled job working on a busy production line making machinery.

He needed an interpreter for his visa interview. He would not be safe on a busy, dangerous production line".

Steve Jobs – the most brilliant practioner of perfect timing….


There can be no doubt in anyone'ss mind that Steve Jobs was one of the most dynamic, most innovative and most impactful business leaders of our times. Much has already been written about all this. My post today is on a small but different point – how Steve Jobs understood the meaning of perfect timing; and how even the Gods were forced to reward him with the perfect timing for his departure…. 
There is this concept that everyone knows of – departing on time. A little too early and one feels that one could have done a little more with one’s time. A little too late and one feels that one stayed on for too long. The right timing is what makes the real heroes stand out. Take Gandhiji for example. His timing couldn’t have been more perfect. He found himself at the right time in South Africa – where circumstances pitchforked him into the middle of the anti-colonial struggle there. He came back to India to find a near-vacuum in the struggle against the British. Through more than thirty years of his struggle in India, he managed to get the timing right for the Khilafat movement, the non-cooperation movement and eventually the Quit India movement. Not before he got the full independence for India did Gandhiji rest. Not till the last of the British left the Indian soil could anyone stop Gandhiji. Gandhiji’s departure from this planet was perfectly timed – just after he had delivered his goal to his countrymen. Not minute too soon. Not a minute too late. The gods conspired to confer greatness on the father of the nation. 
Steve Job’s case is something similar. There could not possibly have been a better time for him to depart from this life. 
Just look at the financial performance of his company. In the 3rd quarter of this fiscal (Apple fiscal ends September each year), Apple clocked revenues of $28.6 billion, a growth of 82% over the previous year. Mind you, these are not the results of an upstart, small company which would naturally record fast growth rates. Apple was already a monolith a year back – nearly the same size as other iconic companies like Pepsico and nearly double of Coca Cola Company Limited. Apple’s 3rd quarter profits stoo at $.7.3 billion, a growth of 125% over the same period last year. Such results are simply unheard of in the corporate sector – especially in America where revenue growths of 10% are considered excellent. Even Indian companies – with their much smaller bases – are unable to record such high rates of growths. These results are a tribute to the genius of Steve Jobs. 
All through his life, Steve Jobs understood the meaning of timing. While othere management gurus could only talk about it, Steve Jobs practiced perfect timing. His first award winning product was no doubt the humble ipod in 2001, even though the Mac had been launched earlier. This simple product was able to put “1000 songs” into a mini frame that could easily be carried in a small wallet or even a shirt pocket. From 2001 to 2004, Apple milked the success of the ipod. As sales of the original ipod started declining, Apple introduced a new model of ipod with incessant regularity – starting with the ipod mini in Jan 2004, the ipod music+photo model in Oct 2004, the ipod shuffle in Jan 2005, the ipod nano in Sept 2005 and ipod video player in Oct 2005. But even as these design innovations perked sales up, Jobs knew that the ipod was going to go into decline. Pronto, in June 2007, the iphone was launched and the company revenues soared again. Jobs followed the same relentless spirit of innovation and perfect timing with the iphone launching a new model every year with the iphone 3G coming out in June 2008, the iphone-3 in June 2009 and the iphone-4 in June 2010. Just a few weeks back, the company unveiled the latest iphone – the iphone 4S. 
With the launch of the iphone, Steve Jobs took Apple into a different orbit altogether. Under normal circumstances, one would have expected Jobs to milk the iphone for a few years before introducing the next big innovation. But maybe Jobs knew of what the future held for him. His sense of timing had to be perfect. And so, while the iphone sales were still soaring, the ipad was launched in April 2010 and the follow-up model, the ipad-2, was launched a year later in March this year. 
It’s not surprising then that Apple has been recording revenue growths of the kind not seen before. Revenue growths were 33% in FY04, 68% in FY05, 39% in FY06, 27% in FY07, 53% in FY08, 14% in FY09 and 52% in FY10. And then of course, the way FY11 is going, Apple will beat its own past records by growing perhaps at more than 80% this year. In just 8 years, Apple’s turnover would increase from just $ 8 billion to perhaps more than $100 billion this year. The sense of timing is apparent again here, as the FY11 revenue growth numbers – the last year of Jobs’ life – are the highest ever in the company’s history. If this is not an example of great timing, what is? 
Most people say that the world lost Jobs too early. There is a sense of remorse and sadness that this great innovator died so early. But just think about it – isn’t this the way Jobs himself would have wanted it? To go at the peak of his career. To go when everyone is asking: why? Just like in the case of Gandhiji, looks like the Gods have conspired in the case of Steve Jobs also. 
The real truth is that Steve Jobs was brilliant in many things. He was a brilliant innovator; he was a brilliant marketer. But what is not known well enough is that he was a brilliant timer of events. It’s almost like he scripted his own death – timed beautifully with the best period of his company’s life….that’s the true genius of this brilliant man…..

US broadcaster deported from India


New Delhi, Sept 24 : Radio broadcaster and founder-director of Alternate Radio, David Barsamian was deported from New Delhi airport on Friday. He had come on a tourist visa and was to leave for Kashmir to study the issue of two thousand unmarked graves. In November 2010 US academic Professor Richard Shapiro was denied entry by the immigration authorities in New Delhi. Shapiro is the chairman and associate professor of the Department of Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco. He is the husband of Angana Chatterji, co-convener of the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir. In May this year, J-K government deported human rights activist Gautum Navlakha from Srinagar airport.
Association of Parents of Parents of disappeared persons spokesperson said that David after reading a State Human Rights report on the unmarked graves had informed him that he would visit the valley next week. Immigration officials cite the reason for deportation as violation of laws .David during his previous visit he came on a tourist visa and later wrote reports on human rights violation in Kashmir. This is not permitted since he did not come on a journalist visa. David visited India in 2008 and in Febuary this year. He also delivered lectures.
He made a call to Pandit Dehu Chaudhri who is his sitar guru. Pandit said that he sounded shaky and was glad that  his life is  safe. Noted Documentary filmmaker Sanjay Kak said that he received a email which said that he was  sad and furious and so tired.

NRI husbands lose passports for wife harassment


New Delhi, Oct 6 : The Regional Passport offices across the country have constituted a women complaint cell for Non Resident Indians (NRI) . Based on a complaint from the spouse the office will confiscate the husband’s passport. The highest number of complaint was recorded in Jallandhar.
We have so far received 198 complains and seized passports of 59 people in these cases. We are working on other cases and will take action on them soon,” Parmeet Singh Regional Passport Officer  said. She said such cells would help provide justice to women being harassed by their husbands living abroad.

National Commission for Women has a NRI cell. The NRI Cell was formally inaugurated on the 24th of September, 2009. NRI Cell deals with complaints received from India and abroad resulting due to cross country marriages wherein there is any deprivation of women’s rights or any issue involving grave injustice to women. Since its inception around 350 cases have been registered.

The issue of feasibility of dual passport to women who marry NRIs/PIOs was taken up with Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice. However under existing Passport Act, 1967 the same is not feasible, the MEA has assured the following: if a wife is harassed and deserted and is without her passport and if the original passport is valid and the husband has that in his custody, she can make an application to the Passport Office and a new passport will be given after verifying passport particulars from original Passport issuing authority, in case she does not have any record or photocopy of her old passport.

Eligible Punjabi NRI voters register now

Eligible Punjabi NRIs, who are eagerly looking forward to voting in Indian elections, need to be first registered as voters at their place of residence in India. Hundreds of Punjabi NRIs live in different parts of the world including US, Britain, Canada, the Gulf countries, Australia, New Zealand, south-east Asia and Europe. As per the amendment of the Representation of People's Act, in order to be eligible to be registered as voters in India, every overseas elector who is not present in his place of ordinary residence in India due to employment, education or other reasons and has not acquired citizenship of any other country and who is not included in the electoral roll has the right to have his name registered in the electoral roll of the constituency in which his her place of residence in India as mentioned in his her passport is located. So speaking in terms of rule 8A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, every NRI whose place of residence in India is located in the state of Punjab and who has completed 18 years of age as on 01.01.2011, and wants to register his name in the electoral roll is required to submit claim application in Form 6-A for registration in the electoral roll of the constituency in which his her place of residence as shown in the passport is located. The claim application or Form-6A as it is commonly known can be either submitted in person directly to the registration officer of the constituency concerned or sent to such registration officer by post along with the necessary documents. When the claim application is sent by post, it should be accompanied by photocopies of the relevant pages of the passport duly attested by the competent official of the Indian mission in the country concerned. So NRIs, what are you waiting for? Apply now to get registered as voters in India.

NRI VOTER REGISTRATION


NRIs, who are looking forward to voting in Indian elections, need to be first registered as voters.
As per the amendment of the Representation of People's Act, in order to be eligible to be registered as voters in India, every overseas elector who is not present in their place of ordinary residence in India and has not acquired citizenship of any other country and who is not included in the electoral roll has the right to have their name registered in the electoral roll of the constituency in which their place of residence in India as mentioned in his/her passport is located.
Any applications received after October 20, 2011 will be under pending, please submit application as soon as possible 

Schwarzenegger inaugurates his museum in Austria


THAL: Arnold Schwarzenegger - the bodybuilder, movie star and ex-governor who's in the middle of a messy divorce - invoked his life as model for young people on Friday during the formal inauguration of a museum dedicated to him in his native Austria.
Hundreds of fans braved driving rain and chilly autumn temperatures to fete Austria's most famous living son at the museum, located in the two-story Thal village house where Schwarzenegger was born.
The museum, open since July, is a repository of items that include his first barbell, the metal bed that he slept on as a youth, several life-size "Terminator" models and the polished dark wooden desk he sat behind while California's governor.
Schwarzenegger also unveiled a bronze statue of himself flexing and in trunks as the young body builder from Austria whose rippling biceps led to his Hollywood career - and the popularity that paved the road to the governor's office.
Shielded by an umbrella, Schwarzenegger used the occasion to deliver an inspirational speech to youthful fans. Invoking the title of one of his early films, he told them anything was possible as long as they "stay hungry."
He said he wishes that every person who visits the museum "understands that everyone can be successful in his own way."
"My personal success has less to do with millions of dollars or with the headlines in the media that are not always positive and also not with being clapped on the shoulder by Barack Obamaand other world names," he said. "Personal success is the result of determination, hard work and stubbornness.
"For me, this is not only a museum," he added, gesturing to the yellow-stuccoed house behind him. "It is also a symbol of will ... everyone has a chance."
The bronze statue is one of several commissioned by Schwarzenegger earlier this year. But even if some in the crowd knew that the Schwarzenegger likeness was not unique, they didn't seem to care. Bodyguards had to pry a path through people holding an umbrella in one hand and trying to touch their idol with the other, whistling and cheering as he passed by.
With Schwarzenegger was Patrick, his son from his marriage with Maria Shriver. The two are divorcing. But the museum displays photos of Schwarzenegger and Shriver in happier times, and Schwarzenegger described "the marriage with Maria" as one of the days "that I remember with great fondness."
The marriage unraveled after Schwarzenegger acknowledged being the father of child outside of his marriage - something that at least some fans gathered on Friday suggested tarnished his reputation.
"We Austrians are proud of him and what he accomplished," said Gottfried Karner, from the Upper Austrian city of Steyr. "But there are certain things he did that one does not agree with."
Most Austrians have stayed focused on Schwarzenegger's successes since he left for the United States in 1968, first as Mr. Universe, then as "Conan the Barbarian" and the "Terminator" - and finally his 2003 election as governor.
Even before his private life came up for criticism, however, Schwarzenegger's cult status in Austria took some knocks because of his support of the Iraq war and the death penalty as California's governor.
Criticism grew after he refused to pardon two convicted murderers in a row in 2005 to the point where he ordered city fathers in Graz - Austria's second largest city where he spent his youth - to strip his name from the Graz soccer stadium and sent back the city's highest award - its ring of honor.
Since then, the mood has swung back to adulation - and Friday's speeches reflected that. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who opened the ceremonies, described Schwarzenegger as "one Austrian known by everyone in the world, adding: "We as Austrians are proud of you."

Hugo Chavez hopes Cuba checkup will be clear of cancer

CARACAS: President Hugo Chavez has said he would return to Cuba within a week for a checkup to "confirm" that "there are no malignant cells" in his body.

"Within a week's time, I have to go to Cuba again and we are going to do every little exam necessary. I am sure it is to confirm what we believe, and what is so far the case, and has been in all the tests they have done so far: that there are no malignant cells in my body," Chavez said on VTV television.

"It does have to be confirmed, and, God willing, that is how it will be," the leftist-populist president added.

Chavez, 57, has undergone four rounds of chemotherapy since an operation, but little information has been provided about the nature of the cancer, which has raised uncertainties about the state of his health.

"I am still undergoing treatment. Sometimes I forget but ( Cuban revolutionary iconFidel Castro sends me messages 'don't forget you are in recovery,'" added Chavez.

Chavez -- who has authorized no one else to discuss his health and has kept the exact nature of his illness shrouded in secrecy -- had a cancerous tumor removed on June 20 in Havana.

Officials have said the tumor was removed from the president's "pelvic area" but have given no other details.

Chavez has been in power since 1999 and has maintained that he will recover in time to win re-election by a "knock-out" in 2012.

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he will quit 'in coming days'

SANAA: Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Salehsaid on Saturday he would leave power in the coming days after the country has been largely paralysed by nearly nine months of mass protests against his 33 year rule.

"I reject power and I will continue to reject it, and I will be leaving power in the coming days," he said in a speech on state television.

Saleh has been clinging to his position while opposition and ruling party representatives cast about for a formula to see through a transition-of-power deal.

Four Indian workers killed in refinery explosion in Kuwait


DUBAI, The four workers who died in an explosion in Kuwait''s largest refinery last week have been identified as Indian nationals from Tamil Nadu.

The Indian embassy confirmed today that all the four workers who lost their lives in the refinery accident on Saturday were Indians.

The victims have been identified as Rajaram Lakshmaiah Reddy, Lognathan Ponnaiah Senthivel, Janakiraman Arjunan and Sivachandran Shanmugam.

The workers were killed and two other employees injured in a gas pipe explosion at Kuwait''s largest refinery of Mina Al-Ahmadi.

The explosion took place at the Gas Liquefaction Plant at the refinery during maintenance works, Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) said in a statement.

The Embassy said its officials were in contact with the employer of the deceased for completing the necessary formalities for airlifting their mortal remains to India.

Reports suggest the explosion was caused by a gas leak.

The refinery is said to be continuing its operations as usual.

Mina al-Ahmadi is the largest of three refineries in Kuwait with a refining capacity of over 460,000 barrels per day.

Body of Hoshiarpur boy killed in Paris to arrive on Oct 11


Jalandhar, October 8
The body of the 27-year-old Punjabi immigrant Rajinder Singh, who had got electrocuted on the tracks of Paris metro while trying to save a French woman from a pickpocket, is likely to reach here on October 11. The incident had occurred on September 29. A resident of Dumana village in Hoshiarpur, Rajinder, had left for France seven years ago and was working as a home delivery boy at a restaurant.

Meanwhile, CM Parkash Singh Badal rang up the deceased’s father and assured him of all possible help. The French embassy in India, too, has sought details about Rajinder’s family, it is learnt.

13 ethnic Indians in biggest US credit card scam


New York, October 8
In the biggest identity theft scam in US history, 111 persons, including at least 13 of Indian origin, have been charged by federal authorities for stealing credit card data of thousands of customers to buy high-end products worth over $13 million, including Apple gadgets and fancy bags from Gucci.
Among those indicted in 'Operation Swiper' are bank tellers, store employees and restaurant workers who allegedly skimmed customers' personal IDs.
Many of the defendants are accused of going on nationwide shopping sprees, staying at five-star hotels, renting luxury automobiles and private jets with forged credit cards that contained the account information of unsuspecting American and European consumers.
The defendants are members of five organised forged credit card and identity theft rings based in Queens County and have ties to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Charged in 10 indictments, the defendants perpetrated fraud that cost financial institutions and retail businesses more than $ 13 million in losses over a 16-month period.
The indictments charge that Imran Khan, Ali Khweiss, Anthony Martin, Sanjay Deowsarran and Amar Singh were "bosses" of criminal enterprises and received the necessary raw material - lists of credit card account numbers and various blank credit cards.
Among the Indian-origin people charged are Vishnu Harilal, Ravindra Singh, Amar Singh, Neha Punjabi Singh, Ravi Ramroop and Kamal Sanasi. Eighty-six of the defendants are in custody and 25 are presently being sought.
In addition, nearly 24 defendants are variously charged in six indictments with participating in burglaries and robberies throughout Queens County.
"This is by far the largest — and certainly among the most sophisticated — identity theft/credit card fraud cases that law enforcement has come across," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Draft IT policy aims to create 10 million jobs

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday unveiled the draft policy on information technology, 2011 that is aimed at creating a pool of extra 10 million skilled manpower by 2020 and strengthening India's position as a global IT power.

The policy also targets exports worth $200 billion and a revenue of $300 billion by 2020 from the IT and ITes industry, communication and IT minister Kapil Sibal said, while unveiling the draft policy. The shipment is worth $59 billion, while the revenue is $88 billion at present. "Our objective from this policy is to increase revenues of IT and ITeS (IT-enabled services) industry from $88 billion at present to $300 billion by 2020 and expand exports from $59 billion at present to $200 billion by 2020 and to create a pool of 10 million additional skilled manpower," he said.

The Indian IT sector, which gets 80% of its revenues from exports, employs over 2.5 million skilled people, he added. The draft is available for comments from public and various stakeholders for a month on the websites of the Department of Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications. The draft aims to provide fiscal benefits to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-up ventures in the key industrial verticals for adoption of IT. "We are waiting for the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) to put in place, then we will make a framework to provide incentives to smaller and medium IT firms," Sibal said.

The draft also focuses on gaining significant global market share in cloud-based technologies and services and mobile-based value added services. "A conducive policy environment and the concerted strategy is needed for the country to remain a global player on a long-term basis."

Further, it also calls for setting up centres of excellence in institutions of higher learning so as to produce at least 3,000 PhDs in ICT in specialised areas by 2020. The policy also formulates fiscal and other regulations to attract investments in the sector in tier II and III cities and to create employment opportunities across the country. "As most of the IT companies are located in big cities like Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, the policy will now look at expanding to tier II and tier III cities as well," Sibal added. 

Lankan attacks on Indian fishermen act of aggression: Jayalalithaa

RIYADH: Saudi King Abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a Saudi woman to be lashed 10 times for defying the kingdom's ban on female drivers, a government official said on Thursday.

The verdict took Saudi women by surprise, coming just a day after King Abdullah promised to protect women's rights and decreed that women would be allowed to participate in municipal elections in 2015.

The sentence marked the first time a legal punishment had been handed down since female activists began their campaign in June to break the taboo in this ultraconservative Muslim nation.

There are no written laws that restrict women from driving.

Saudi king overturns verdict, saves woman driver from lashing

RIYADH: Saudi King Abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a Saudi woman to be lashed 10 times for defying the kingdom's ban on female drivers, a government official said.

The official declined to elaborate on the monarch's decision, and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

A Saudi court had found Shaima Jastaina guilty of violating the driving ban, and sentenced her to 10 lashes. The verdict took Saudi women by surprise, coming just a day after King Abdullah promised to protect women's rights and decreed that women would be allowed to participate in municipal elections in 2015. Abdullah also promised to appoint women to a currently all-male advisory body known as the Shura Council.

The harsh sentence marked the first time a legal punishment had been handed down since female activists began their campaign in June to break the taboo in this ultraconservative Muslim nation.

There are no written laws that restrict women from driving. Rather, the ban is rooted in conservative traditions and religious views that hold giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sins.

Normally, police just stop female drivers, question them and let them go after they sign a pledge not to drive again. But dozens of women have continued to take to the roads since June in a campaign to break the taboo.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women _ both Saudi and foreign _ from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford the $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.

Saudi woman sentenced to 10 lashes for driving car

CAIRO: A Saudi woman has been sentenced to be lashed 10 times with a whip for defying the kingdom's prohibition on female drivers, the first time a legal punishment has been handed down for a violation of the longtime ban in the ultraconservative Muslim nation.

Normally, police just stop female drivers, question them and let them go after they sign a pledge not to drive again. But dozens of women have continued to take to the roads since June in a campaign to break the taboo.

Making Tuesday's sentence all the more upsetting to activists is that it came just two days after King Abdullah promised to protect women's rights and decreed that women would be allowed to participate in municipal elections in 2015. Abdullah also promised to appoint women to a currently all-male advisory body known as the Shura Council.

The mixed signals highlight the challenge for Abdullah, known as a reformer, in pushing gently for change without antagonizing the powerful clergy and a conservative segment of the population.

Abdullah said he had the backing of the official clerical council. But activists saw Tuesday's sentencing as a retaliation of sorts from the hard-line Saudi religious establishment that controls the courts and oversees the intrusive religious police.

``Our king doesn't deserve that,'' said Sohila Zein el-Abydeen, a prominent female member of the governmental National Society for Human Rights. She burst into tears in a phone interview and said, ``The verdict is shocking to me, but we were expecting this kind of reaction.''

The driver, Shaima Jastaina, in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission, activist Samar Badawi said. The punishment is usually carried out within a month. It was not possible to reach Jastaina, but Badawi, in touch with Jastaina's family, said she appealed the verdict.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women _ both Saudi and foreign _ from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford the $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.

There are no written laws that restrict women from driving. Rather, the ban is rooted in conservative traditions and religious views that hold giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sins.

Activists say the religious justification is irrelevant.

``How come women get flogged for driving while the maximum penalty for a traffic violation is a fine, not lashes?'' Zein el-Abydeen said. ``Even the Prophet (Muhammad's) wives were riding camels and horses because these were the only means of transportation.''

Since June, dozens of women have led a campaign to try to break the taboo and impose a new status quo. The campaign's founder, Manal al-Sherif, who posted a video of herself driving on Facebook, was detained for more than 10 days. She was released after signing a pledge not to drive or speak to media.

Since then, women have been appearing in the streets driving their cars once or twice a week.

Until Tuesday, none had been sentenced by the courts. But recently, several women have been summoned for questioning by the prosecutor general and referred to trial.

One of them, housewife Najalaa al-Harriri, drove only two times, not out of defiance, but out of need, she says.

``I don't have a driver. I needed to drop my son off at school and pick up my daughter from work,'' she said over the phone from the western port city of Jiddah.

``The day the king gave his speech, I was sitting at the prosecutor's office and was asked why I needed to drive, how many times I drove and where,'' she said. She is to stand trial in a month.

After the king's announcement about voting rights for women, Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Abdel Aziz Al Sheik blessed the move and said, ``It's for women's good.''

Al-Harriri, who is one of the founders of a women's rights campaign called ``My Right My Dignity,'' said, ``It is strange that I was questioned at a time the mufti himself blessed the king's move.''

Asked if the sentencing will stop women from driving, Maha al-Qahtani, another female activist, said, ``This is our right, whether they like it or not.''

Iran hangs convicted rapist

TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday hanged a convicted rapist in the northern city of Sari, the ISNA news agency reported.

The man sent to the gallows had threatened and raped his victim while claiming to be a law enforcement agent, the report added without giving further details.

The latest hanging brings the number of executions, reported in Iran so far this year, to 207.

Iranian media reported 179 hangings last year but international human rights groups say the actual number was much higher, ranking the Islamic republic second only to China in the number of people it executed in 2010.

Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order, and that it is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.
Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran.

Israeli wins right to 'no religion'

JERUSALEM: An Israeli writer has won a historic court victory granting his request to be officially registered as "without religion" rather than "Jewish", Israeli newspaper Haaretzreported on Sunday.

Yoram Kaniuk turned to the courts in May after the interior ministry refused to alter his official religious status from Jewish to "without religion", Haaretz said.

And last week, a Tel Aviv court sided with his demand, ruling that Israeli law allows citizens to be officially registered as having no religion.

"Freedom from religion is a freedom derived from the right to human dignity, which is protected by the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom," Haaretz quoted the ruling as saying.

Kaniuk called the court's decision a "ruling of historic proportions". "I can be without religion but Jewish by nationality. I am so thrilled," he said.

That has raised the ire of secular groups who have petitioned the interior ministry for years to replace the Jewish ethnicity label with an Israeli one.

Hamid Ali Rao is new Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia): Hamid Ali Rao, anIndian Foreign Service officer from the 1981 batch, has taken charge as India's ambassador toSaudi Arabia. He succeeds Talmiz Ahmad who retired from the service last month.
 
Hailing from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Rao is presently the permanent representative of India at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
 
Rao is the son of late Kunwasr Mohmood Ali Khan, a former governor of Madhya Pradesh.

Saudi authorities launch operation to salvage wreckage of ship destroyed during World War I

JEDDAH: Saudi authorities have launched a special operation to salvage the wreckage of a sunken ship destroyed during World War I.

The sunken ship, located off the shore of Qunfudah, a coastal city along the Red Sea, is believed to be Ottoman and had been destroyed in an attack by Italian warplanes during the first World War.

Several Ottoman ships in the area were destroyed during the period.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities is taking necessary measures to salvage the debris of the 56-meter long ship and ensure that all parts are recovered without any further damage.

Specially trained divers are being used for the purpose. A special sand dock has been built to carry out the salvage operation.

The team will also fish out a 28-meter long boat found underneath the ship.

The Saudi authorities plan to exhibit the wreckage on the land it owns in Qunfudah. 

Gaddafi son denies Interpol allegations

TRIPOLI: Muammar Gaddafi's son, al-Saadi, denied allegations of corruption and intimidation and called Interpol's decision to put him on the equivalent of its most-wanted list political, according to an email.

Al-Saadi Gaddafi is under house arrest in Libyan neighbor Niger, where he fled after Tripoli fell to revolutionary forces. His father and two of his brothers are in hiding, presumably inside Libya, as fighting between revolutionary forces and Gaddafi loyalists continues on three fronts.

Al-Saadi "regrets the issue of a red notice byInterpol and strenuously denies the charges made against him," an email forwarded Sunday to The Associated Press said.

Interpol issued a red notice for al-Saadi last week based on accusations he misappropriated property and engaged in "armed intimidation" when he headed the Libyan Football Federation. He also was a special forces commander and is the subject of UN sanctions for commanding military units involved in repression of demonstrations.

The international police agency said the notice was issued in response to a request by the Libya's National Transitional Council, which has assumed leadership of the North African nation. Niger, which borders Libya on the south and long benefited from Gaddafi's largesse, has said it would study the question.

In the email, al-Saadi called the Interpol notice a "clear political decision to recognize the de jure authority of the National Transitional Council taken without appropriate regard to the current absence of a functioning, effective and fair system of justice in Libya."

It said al-Saadi "worked tirelessly to promote football in Libya, priding himself on the fact that Libya was formerly selected to host the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations." It added that Gaddafi's son "continues to call on all sides to seek a negotiated and peaceful resolution to the present conflict."

The South African Football Association has signed an agreement with Libya's post-Gaddafi football federation to host the 2013 African Cup of Nations, while Libya will stage the 2017 games.

The email was relayed to the AP on Sunday by defense attorney Nick Kaufman, who has been involved in a number of international criminal cases. Kaufman said he was contacted by an intermediary he identified as al-Saadi's press secretary, Jackie Frazier.

Al-Saadi fled to Niger in mid-September along with several other regime loyalists, including some generals.

Interpol also has issued red notices for Muammar Gaddafi and his son Seif al-Islam upon request by the Hague-based International Criminal Court. Both men have been charged with crimes against humanity.

Interpol had urged authorities in Niger and surrounding countries -- and those with direct flights to Niger -- to watch out for and arrest Gaddafi "with a view to returning him to Libya" for prosecution.

Interpol's red notices are the highest-level alerts they can issue to their member countries. The notices do not force countries to turn over suspects but strongly urge them to, and countries who ignore such notices can come under pressure from the international community.

Gadhafi's eight adult children have played influential roles in Libya, from commanding an elite military unit to controlling the oil sector. Al-Saadi, 38, headed the Libyan Football Federation, and at one point played in Italy's professional league but spent most of his time on the bench.

Another Gadhafi son is with his daughter Aisha and wife in neighboring Algeria -- along with other family members -- while Khamis Gaddafi, who led the Khamis Brigade that fought in the west, was reportedly killed in battle, although that was never confirmed.

Libya's new rulers have gained control of most of the country, but revolutionary forces still face fierce resistance in Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and pockets in the southern desert. NATO recent extended its mission, although the top US commander for Africa said Saturday that the military mission is largely complete.

Army Gen Carter Ham, head of US Africa command said that the National Transitional Council and its forces should be in "reasonable control" of population centers before the end of the NATO mission, dubbed Unified Protector. And he said they are close to that now. 

No sign Egypt will lift emergency law before vote: US

CAIRO: Egypt's military rulers on Tuesday assured US defence secretary Leon Panetta they will lift a controversial emergency law but gave no sign they will do so before parliamentary elections next month, US officials said.

In a visit to Cairo on Tuesday, Panetta renewed Washington's appeal to scrap the security law and said he was hopeful Egypt's interim military government will eventually take that step.

The emergency law, which allows arrests without charges and restricts the rights of defendants in special courts, was seen as a symbol of repression under former president Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Egyptian leaders told the Pentagon chief that "they are seriously looking at the first opportunity" to rescind the law, Panetta told a news conference after meeting the country's military ruler field marshal Hussein Tantawi.

But in talks with the defence secretary, the Egyptians made no commitment to do so before a series of elections starting on November 28 that will usher in a civilian-led government.

Instead, the Egyptian officials told the Americans that last month's siege of the Israeli embassy served as an example of why the law is still needed to maintain order in a time of turmoil following ex-president Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

"We came away reassured that they understand the importance of the issue, even though they suggested the siege of the Israeli embassy and the surrounding events from their point of view renewed the need for this," said a senior US defence official.

The US administration, along with activists in Egypt and human rights groups, has voiced concern that "having the emergency law still in effect would cast a shadow over the election process," the official told reporters.

"We're hopeful that they will do so before the parliamentary elections" in November, the defence official added.

In remarks published on Tuesday before Panetta arrived, Tantawi, who took charge when a popular uprising forced out Mubarak in February, said the state of emergency would end "as soon as possible."

However, he added that the emergency law, which the military widened in scope last month after protesters ransacked the Israeli embassy and clashed with police, would be lifted "on condition that the security situation stabilises."

The law -- which has been continuously in place since Islamists assassinated president Anwar Sadat in 1981 -- had been regularly extended under Mubarak's rule.

At the press conference with Panetta, US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson said the Egyptian leadership appeared not to have made a decision yet on the timing of lifting the state of emergency.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said last week she hoped Egypt would cancel the emergency law well before June next year when the powers granted by the Mubarak-era parliament run out.

Interpol puts Gaddafi son on most-wanted list

PARIS: Interpol put ousted Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi's son al-Saadi on the equivalent of its most-wanted list on Thursday, and said he was last seen in Niger.

The international police agency said in a statement that it has issued a red notice for al-Saadi Gaddafi, based on a request by the National Transitional Council, the opposition movement whose fighters overthrew Gaddafi last month.

It was the first time Interpol has issued such a notice at the request of Libya's post-Gaddafi leadership.

Interpol says the notice was based on accusations that al-Saadi Gaddafi, 38, misappropriated property and engaged in ``armed intimidation'' when he headed the Libyan Football Federation.

He was also a special forces commander and is the subject of U.N. sanctions for commanding military units involved in repression of demonstrations.

Al-Saadi and other Gaddafi regime loyalists have crossed into Niger earlier this month following former rebel advances on loyalist areas.

Interpol urged authorities in Niger and surrounding countries, and countries with direct flights to Niger, to watch out for and arrest Gaddafi ``with a view to returning him to Libya'' for prosecution.

Interpol's red notices are the highest-level alerts they can issue to their member countries. The notices do not force countries to turn over suspects but strongly urge them to. Countries who ignore such notices can come under pressure from the international community.

Interpol has already issued red notices for Gaddafi and his son Seif al-Islam Gaddafi based on a request by the International Criminal Court. Both men have been charged with crimes against humanity.

Moammar Gaddafi's whereabouts are unknown. Libya's new rulers said Wednesday they believe he may be hiding in the southern desert under the protection of ethnic Tuareg fighters, while two of his other sons are holed up in cities besieged by revolutionary forces elsewhere in Libya.

Gaddafi's wife and daughter fled to neighboring Algeria. 

Libya's post-Gaddafi rulers name new Cabinet


BENGHAZI: Libya's transitional leaders have named a new Cabinet and have vowed to step down after the country is secured, a move designed to show the North African nation is moving on even though fighting persists andMuammar Gaddafi remains at large.

The announcement on Monday was made jointly by the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, and de facto Prime MinisterMahmoud Jibril in a news conference following weeks of political infighting and delays over the formation of a new government.

In the end, the Cabinet line-up did not contain many changes, prompting many Libyans to question why it took so long, coming about six weeks after revolutionary forces seized the capital,Tripoli, and forced Gaddafi into hiding.

Jibril, who graduated from and taught strategic planning at the University of Pittsburgh for several years, remains in his position but also takes over as foreign minister, meaning his current deputy and foreign minister Ali al-Issawi is out. Ali al-Tarhouni, a US-educated economist, will continue acting as oil minister until the National Oil Company is ready to take over.

The new leaders said they would remain in place until the country is secured and liberation is declared, then a new transitional government would be formed within a month.

"We have signed a pledge to the Libyan people that we will not be part of the future government not in any way," Abdul-Jalil said to applause.

The pledge was intended to reassure the public they will not suffer under another dictatorship.

Revolutionary forces are still battling loyalists of Gaddafi on two major fronts as well as pockets deep in the southern desert. But Jibril said he had asked that liberation be declared after Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte is captured because that would ensure that all sea, land and air entry ports are secure.

He acknowledged fighting would continue in Bani Walid, where the terrain and the harbouring of suspected high-level regime figures possibly including Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam has led to a weekslong standoff. But he said it was important to declare victory and begin rebuilding the country.

"Bani Walid doesn't have any international exits," Jibril said. "And it is very important to begin and speed up the transitional process and begin the democratic stage."

Mahmud Abbas seeks support for UN bid in Latin America

SANTO DOMINGO (Dominican Republic): Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas started a Latin America tour in the Dominican Republic to harness support for his government's bid to win a place at the United Nations.

Abbas met with President Leonel Fernandez yesterday and was also to address the Dominican Congress over the quest for statehood, which he formally presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 23.

"We don't hesitate to recognize the legitimate right of Palestine to be recognized as a free, independent and sovereign State," Fernandez said, underlining that his country also had "excellent diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations with Israel."

Abbas replied: "You're not big militarily but you're big in faith, peace and solidarity with the Palestinian people."

The Palestinian president is also due to travel to El Salvador and Colombia, where President Juan Manuel Santos has already pledged to abstain in any UN Security Council vote.

Colombia, a close ally of Washington, is a non-permanent member of the 15-member Security Council, which is expected to vote on the bid in the coming weeks.

The move is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States, which say a Palestinian state can only emerge through bilateral negotiations.

Six Security Council members -- Brazil, China, India, Lebanon, Russia and South Africa -- have publicly indicated their backing for the Palestinian bid. 

Libyan forces plan "final" attack on Gaddafi hometown

SIRTE, LIBYA: Libyan interim governmentforces have pledged to mount a final decisive attack on Muammar Gaddafi's hometown and one of his former lieutenants says he believes the deposed leader is ready to fight to the end.

"I think Gaddafi ... has not left the country. I strongly believe, based on my knowledge of him, that he is fighting with his weapons and alongside his men," Gaddafi's former Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, who is in prison in Tunisia, said in comments passed to Reuters by his lawyer.

"He will not give up and he will not lay down his weapons until the end," Mahmoudi said on Tuesday.
Gaddafi and several of his sons are still at large more than seven weeks after rebel fighters stormed the capital and ended his 42-year rule. His supporters hold Sirte and the town of Bani Walid, south of Tripoli.

Government forces who had for three weeks been pinned down by artillery and rocket fire on the eastern edges of Sirte have since advanced several kilometers (miles) into the city, capturing the southern district of Bouhadi.
Bullet-holed cars carrying terrified, ill and hungry civilians crawled out of Sirte. Aid agencies say they are concerned about civilians who are trapped inside the city by the fighting and running out of food, water, fuel and medicine.

Commanders of forces loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) are talking of a "final" push to take the town. Backed by NATO warplanes, they have been bombarding pro-Gaddafi positions inside Sirte.
US defense secretary Leon Panetta said he expected NATO aerial operations over Libya to continue while fighting goes on, but that the alliance would discuss the issue this week.

"As long as there's fighting that's continuing in Libya, I suspect that the NATO mission would continue," Panetta told reporters in Cairo.

NATO renewed the mission in September for 90 days but agreed to review conditions every 30 days to see whether operations could be ended.

A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the "general consensus is that we're not there yet because of the continued fighting and resistance of pro-Gaddafi forces."

Panetta said the fighting in Sirte and the mystery over Gaddafi's whereabouts left a question mark over how to end NATO's air operation and allow the interim administration to move on to other issues.

Gaddafi's former prime minister, who is in prison while the authorities in neighboring Tunisiaconsider a request from the NTC for his extradition, said he would be ready to cooperate with Libya's new rulers if they dropped that request.

"I hope to be a part of the solution in Libya and not part of the problem," he said.

GRIM SCENES IN HOSPITAL
Concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Sirte have focused on the Ibn Sina hospital. Medical workers who fled Sirte said patients were dying on the operating table because there was no oxygen and no fuel for the hospital's generators.

"It's a disaster," a doctor who gave her name as Nada told Reuters as she fled the city on Tuesday. "They are hitting the hospital. Two kids have died there. There is random shooting at the hospital from both sides."

On the east of the city on Tuesday, NTC fighters said they were trying to clear a corridor to the hospital but that they were being hampered by pro-Gaddafi snipers.

Gaddafi's former prime minister, who is not on the list of former Libyan officials wanted by theInternational Criminal Court, distanced himself from the repression of the old regime.

"I tell you one thing: I was hated by Gaddafi's entourage," al-Mahmoudi said. "I am convinced that I have done nothing bad to the Libyans," he said. "My role was to ensure food supplies for the Libyan people, particularly during the crisis."

"The French know very well that this was the role I played ... I had no military role."

Gaddafi's spokesman, and some civilians leaving Sirte, have blamed NATO bombing and NTC shelling for killing civilians and destroying buildings in the town.

NATO and the NTC say Gaddafi loyalists have been executing suspected NTC sympathizers and forcing others to fight.

A Red Cross convoy delivered oxygen and other urgently needed medical supplies to the hospital on Monday after an earlier attempt was aborted because of heavy fighting.

Ali Durgham, leaving the city with several relatives, told Reuters his father had been killed and his uncle gravely wounded by a shell as they walked to a mosque on Monday.

"My father died in my arms," he said, weeping. "I buried him yesterday."

Medical staff outside Sirte said they had been told the corridors of Ibn Sina were full of patients and that only pro-Gaddafi fighters or members of his tribe were being treated.

A military spokesman for the interim government has said that Gaddafi's son Mutassim is hiding in the hospital.

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he will quit 'in coming days'

SANAA: Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Salehsaid on Saturday he would leave power in the coming days after the country has been largely paralysed by nearly nine months of mass protests against his 33 year rule.

"I reject power and I will continue to reject it, and I will be leaving power in the coming days," he said in a speech on state television.

Saleh has been clinging to his position while opposition and ruling party representatives cast about for a formula to see through a transition-of-power deal.

0007, AK 47 VRNs shoot down 0001 at auction

AK (00) 47 bought by Baba Budha Dal sect head for scooter, likely to shift it to a Rolls-Royce

Chandigarh, October 7
Secret agent James Bond 007 outshined the local charm for AK 47 and AK 56, the lethal weapons that reverberated in the region during the dark days of militancy, at the auction of the new CH 04 AK series of vehicle registration numbers at the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA), Chandigarh. The secret agent’s number fetched the highest bid amount of Rs 4.21 lakh compared to Rs 3.20 lakh paid for AK 47 (CH 04 AK 0047) and a mere Rs 10,000 (reserve price) for AK 56 (CH 04 AK 0056).

What is interesting is that the numbers AK (00) 47 and AK (00) 56, both of which symbolised the world’s most widely used assault rifle by armies, policemen and terrorists alike the world over, has been bought by the head of the Baba Budha Dal sect. Equally interesting is the fact that the number will figure on a scooter, rather than a fancy car. But then, it is widely believed that the number will eventually be transferred to a Rolls Royce.
Interestingly, the vanity number 0001, which has often witnessed the highest bidding in the past, fetched Rs 3.10 lakh, even lesser than 0005 that fetched Rs 3.25 lakh for the licensing authority.
The proud owner of the number 0007, Amrit Pal Singh, a Ludhiana-based proprietor of White Tiger Build Cons, said he was ready to pay any amount to clinch his favourite number. Amrit Pal owns a fleet of high-end swanky cars, including a Bentley, a Rolls-Royce and a Range Rover SUV, all bearing either 0007 or 0001 as registration numbers.
Until the moment when the vanity vehicle registration numbers were put under the hammer, AK 0047 was being considered as the most-sought-after number by the bidders. But the charm for the debonair James Bond number turned the tables on the Kalashnikovs. There were 10 bidders for 0007 and only five for AK 0047. Interestingly, the highest bidder for both numbers said they were ready to pay any cost to own the numbers.
While 0007 number would bedeck the Kyan model of a swanky Porsche, AK 0047 would reportedly enhance the beauty of first a scooter followed by a Rolls Royce. “The car is being readied as the work to make it ‘bulletproof’ is on in a foreign country,” said a close associate of ‘Baba Ji’, who presently was in Nanded Sahib to participate in a nagar kirtan. But when contacted by Chandigarh Tribune, Baba Balbir Singh categorically denied any such development, sayin he was not buying any swanky car. “The number (AK47) has been procured for a scooter. I am not buying any car,” said Baba Balbir Singh.
When asked why he chose AK 0047 and AK 0056, Baba Balbir Singh said laughingly, “Koi khaas vajah taan nahi hai. Eh dono number shaster naal sambandhit hain, te shaster Singhi di nishaani hai (There was no particular purpose. Both these numbers belong to arms and arms are symbols of Sikhs)”. He added that he already had another AK 0047 number from Patiala for his Hero Honda motorcycle.


0001: No more charmer this time
  • The sheen of 0001 was apparently diminished in today’s auction as it remained at the fourth spot as far as the maximum bidding amount on the vanity numbers was concerned.
  • The vanity number, which had brought in the highest Rs 10 lakh last year and Rs 7.5 lakh during last auction in July, fetched a ‘mere’ Rs 3.10 lakh today. The number was reportedly procured by Rajiv Goyal, chairman, Surya Pharmaceuticals, for his Rolls Royce Phantom car.
  • The CH04 AK 0005 brought in Rs 3.25, the second highest amount in bidding. The numbers 0002 and 0003 fetched Rs 2.32 lakh and 2.65 lakh, respectively.
  • The 0007 number was the most-sought number today as 10 bidders were present in the RLA office, whereas only five out of the eligible nine bidders turned up for AK 47 number. For number 0001, there were six bidders only. In CH04 AJ series, the 0007 number had gone for just Rs 2.9 lakh.
  • Rolls Royce Phantom price is Rs 3.5 crore, while Porche Kyan is nearly Rs 70 lakh.

  • Registration & Licencing Authority got Rs 48 lakh
    The Registration and Licensing Authority, UT, Chandigarh, earned a total of Rs 48,02,100 from the auction at which 93 registration numbers for the ‘CH01-AK’ series were sold. This is around Rs 9 lakh more than the earnings from the last auction when a total of 91 numbers (just two numbers less) of the CH 04 AJ series were auctioned.
    Courtesy: TNS

Online US visa racket busted


Mohali, October 7
An Amritsar-based couple, Sukhdev Singh (44) and Gurmeet Kaur (35), have been arrested by the crime branch of the Punjab Police for cheating a woman on the pretext of arranging work permit for her in the USA. To dupe the unsuspecting woman, Harjeet Kaur of Kot Khasla village, Amritsar, the couple created a fake email ID of a non-existing person George Fernandis (claming him to be an American citizen) and sent work permit visa from the same fake email ID. The couple was arrested and a case was registered under Sections 66A, 66D of the Information Technology Act and Section 420, 465, 468, 471 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. SSP Crime Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said the online visa racket came to light when the couple duped the woman from Amritsar. They took Rs 20 lakh from her and sent the fake visa of the USA through e-mail georgefernandis.2011@rediffmail.com.

The accused were remanded in police custody after being produced before a Mohali court today. The couple has duped many other innocent people. The SSP said the couple used to collect huge money in the name of George Fernandis. They themselves sent e-mails on behalf of the said George Fernandis to deceive the people.
MODUS OPERANDIn The arrested couple would send US work permit from a fictitious email IDn They would collect huge money in the name of George Fernandis, a non-existent US citizen, for the work permitn One of the accused owns a cyber café in Amritsar from where the racket was being operated.