16 Indians stranded in Iraq moved out, one of the 40 abducted escapes

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

New Delhi: Sixteen Indians stranded in violence-affected areas of Iraq have been evacuated even as one of the 40 abducted Indians has fled from the captors in Mosul town, which is under the control of the militants.

The developments came on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting which was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, heads of intelligence and security agencies as well as senior officials of External Affairs Ministry.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the meeting reviewed the 'entire dimensions' of the situation taking into consideration all facts and information available to the government.

'We can confirm to you that one Indian has escaped and is in touch with our embassy in Baghdad,' Akbaruddin said.

The 40 Indians, who were working in a construction project, were abducted in Mosul, which was seized by Sunni militant group ISIS.

He said the abducted Indians are safe and noted that the government was making 'every effort so that it is resolved at the earliest.'

Asked about negotiations with the militants, the spokesperson said, 'We are knocking on all doors, front doors, back doors and trapped doors.'

Eight Indians have been evacuated from Baiji while eight others were moved out from Anbar. They have since been flown out of Baghdad.

Iraq is witnessing serious strife with Sunni militants, backed by Al-Qaida, capturing two key cities and marching towards Baghdad. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been displaced in the fighting that broke out on June 10.

Asked whether government was considering flying out Indians stranded in Iraq, the spokesperson said, 'when lives of our nationals are involved no option is off the table'.

The government has decided to provide financial assistance through Indian Community Welfare Fund to those Indians in Iraq who want to return to India but are having monetary problem.

Instructions have also been issued to Indian missions in countries around Iraq to take up the matter with their host governments to facilitate Indians who wish to cross the land boundary from nearest place of their stay, he said.

'We have informed all our missions in the region to work on this matter with their respective governments to ensure that in case people want to cross land boundary they should be assisted,' he said.

The Indian Mission has also taken up the issue of visa for Indians stuck there as the passports of some of them are with their employers.

He said at least 120 Indians were trapped in strife-torn areas which included 46 nurses in Tikrit and 40 kidnapped Indians. 16 have already been moved out of Anbar and Baiji.

Information collected by the government from multiple sources have indicated that all the kidnapped Indians are 'safe'.

'This information is coming to us not from one source but from a multiplicity of sources. Based on that, I can indicate to you that the Indian nationals who have been abducted remain safe,' the MEA Spokesperson said.

The Indian mission in Baghdad was in touch with various other diplomatic misions there to coordinate efforts to ensure the safety of Indians.

Government was also in touch with the 46 nurses who are stranded in Tikrit town, which was also taken over by ISIS militants, he said. PTI

13 killed in China attack

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

Beijing: At least 13 people were killed and three injured Saturday during an attack on a police station in China's Xinjiang region, officials said.

Armed men drove a vehicle and rammed it into the station in Xinjiang and set off explosives, Xinhua reported.

According to officials, the 13 victims were the armed men who attacked the station.

IANS

Child trafficking: DIG submits interim report

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk

Thiruvananthapuram: The DIG has submitted an interim report to the State Human Rights Commission regarding the alleged trafficking of children from North Indian states to Kerala.

However, the report has not termed the incident a case of human trafficking citing that a Crime Branch probe is pending.

The report carries instructions to check functioning of orphanages.

Still, there are differences of opinion at administrative level whether the incident be treated as a case of human trafficking.

After the incident snowballing into a controversy, the government had sent the children back to their home states. 

After railway fares, now LPG price hike in sight

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

New Delhi: After raising the railway fares, the Union Government is reportedly getting ready to give the public another shocker _ hike in LPG price.

The Centre wants to raise the price by Rs 10 per cylinder a month and the move is estimated to collect Rs 7000 crore. Reports say the amount the Centre spends under the fuel subsidy may cross Rs 1.40 lakh crore by this year-end. Further, the rise in fuel price owing to the unrest in Iraq too is believed to create huge financial burden.

The LPG price hike is modeled on the diesel price, which was raised by 50 paise per month. By raising Rs 10 per month, the government wants to eliminate the subsidy gradually.

Meanwhile, it has been decided to retain the number of subsidised cylinders at 12 as of now.

An announcement regarding the price hike may be made in the upcoming budget. ThePetroleum Panning and Analysis Cell functioning under the Petroleumand Natural GasMinistry has made a recommendation to the Centre in this regard.

The PMO made it clear that the government has to take a tough call with the oil price rising to nine months high. 

40 Indians abducted in Iraq, no information on whereabouts

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

New Delhi: India Wednesday said 40 Indians working for a Turkish construction company have been abducted in violence-hit Iraq's Mosul area which has been taken over by Sunni militants.

The external affairs ministry here did not say which militant group had seized the workers.

Earlier media reports blamed the abduction on the Sunni insurgents of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who have seized the cities of Mosul and Tikrit and are advancing menacingly towards capital Baghdad.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the workers mostly belonged to the country's northern states such as Punjab and worked for the Tariq Noor al Huda construction company.

He said no ransom call had been received and the Iraq Red Crescent had "indicated to us that they were kidnapped". He said their current location was not known. Asked about the safety of the Indians, the spokesperson said they were "trying to establish contact" and that "there are no guarantees".

Asked if the workers were kidnapped while being evacuated, he declined to reveal details.

"Information flow in an evolving situation is uncertain. I can only confirm that they've been kidnapped and we are doing everything possible to bring them back safely," he said.

He said India will not leave any stone unturned in providing help to its nationals in Iraq. He also said that the Indian embassy in Baghdad was not to be shut down. The embassy would increase its effectiveness with a former envoy Suresh Reddy being sent there.

On the situation of the 46 Indian nurses in Tikrit, the spokesperson said the Indian mission is in touch with them and the Iraq Red Crescent is ensuring their security and welfare. While there is no air link between Tikrit and Baghdad, the Indian mission is also not keen to evacuate them by the land route. He said the mission is studying a number of options to bring out the nurses who want to return. Some of the nurses have, however, opted to stay put, he informed.

The spokesperson also said that 200 Indians in Najaf working for a Turkish company were "feeling uneasy" and wanted to return. The Indian mission is working to bring them back, and the first lot would be leaving Najaf on Friday.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has also made phone calls to the relatives of a number of people stranded in Iraq. Secretary (East) in the ministry Anil Wadhwa was in touch with international organisations to organise the return of the Indians.

The spokesperson said that while Indians number around 10,000 in Iraq, most of them are in Kurdistan and other safer areas.

In Mosul and Tikrit, there are around 100 Indian nationals.

The ministry control room phone number set up Tuesday evening to provide information to relatives on the situation in Iraq has so far received 60 calls from kin, he said.

IANS

Iraq requests US for air strikes on militants

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

AFP photo: Iraq army. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Iraq has asked the United States to carry out air strikes on Sunni rebels, who attacked the country's main oil refinery and seized more territory in the north. The appeal came as fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were pressing a week-long offensive that has brought them close to the capital and as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledging to face down 'terrorism.' “Iraq has officially asked Washington to help under the security agreement (between the two countries), and to conduct air strikes against terrorist groups,” Zebari told reporters in Saudi Arabia. However, Zebari said a military approach will not be enough. We acknowledge the need for drastic political solutions.' The United States spent millions of dollars over several years training and arming a new Iraqi army after disbanding the Sunni-led force created by the late dictator Saddam Hussein. Washington has already deployed an aircraft carrier to the Gulf and sent marines to bolster security at its embassy in Baghdad, but President Barack Obama has insisted a return to combat in Iraq for US soldiers is not on the cards. However, Secretary of State John Kerry has said drone strikes could be used. Maliki vowed on television that 'we will face terrorism and bring down the conspiracy,' adding that 'we will teach (militants) a lesson and strike them.' He also said the country's security forces, which wilted in the face of a major militant offensive that overran all of one province and chunks of three more in a matter of days last week, had suffered a 'setback' but had not been defeated. Maliki security spokesman Lieutenant General Qassem Atta later said security forces would retake by Thursday morning full control of Tal Afar, a Shiite town in the north that lies along a strategic corridor to Syria. That would provide a base from which to launch operations to recapture Mosul. With regional tensions rising, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic republic 'will do everything' to protect Shiite shrines in Iraqi cities against the militant assault. And Saudi Arabia warned of the risks of a civil war in Iraq with unpredictable consequences for the region, while the United Arab Emirates recalled its envoy to Baghdad, voicing concern over 'exclusionary and sectarian policies.' The crisis, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, threatens to break the country apart, while the assault on Baiji oil refinery Wednesday further spooked international oil markets. Brent crude for August delivery added three cents to $113.48 per barrel just after midday in London. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery picked up 34 cents to $106.73 a barrel.

India is poorest in South Asia after Afghanistan: Oxford varsity study

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

India ranks poorer than Pakistan and Bangladesh among South Asia nations; it is home to over 340 million destitute people

---

---

Reuters

New Delhi: India is home to over 340 million destitute people and is the second poorest country in South Asia after strife-torn Afghanistan, says a poverty estimation study by Oxford University, UK.

Forty per cent of all poor in 49 countries live in India, mostly in rural areas, according to the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2014, a tool used by Oxford researchers to measure poverty.

The researchers classified one-half of all the poor in 49 countries as destitute by using MPI 2014, which identified a person as ‘multi-dimensionally poor’ if he or she is deprived in one-third or more of 10 indicators, such as severe malnutrition, losing two children, and defecating in open.

In South Asia, Afghanistan had the highest level of destitution at 38 per cent, followed by India at a ‘troubling’ 28.5 per cent. Interestingly, India’s immediate neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan had much lower levels of destitution at 17.2 per cent and 20.7 per cent respectively.

The study placed Afghanistan as the poorest country in South Asia, with 66 per cent (based on 2010-11 data) of its people being MPI poor, followed by India with 54 per cent (2005-06), Bangladesh (2011) with 51 per cent, Pakistan (2012-13) and Nepal (2011) at 44 per cent, Bhutan at 27 per cent, and Sri Lanka and the Maldives at 5 per cent.

The researchers also named Bihar as the poorest region among 49 countries, followed by South Afghanistan. It said the poorest eight large Indian States were home to more MPI poor than the 28 poorest African countries, while admitting that India’s data were from 2005-06 and needed an update, whereas those for the 25 African countries were more recent.

In a positive, the study recognised that India reduced multi-dimensional poverty faster than income poverty.

The Oxford analysis of multi-dimensional poverty reduction in India was done using National Family Health Survey datasets from 2005. The MPI was created by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative Director Sabina Alkire and Research Associate Maria Emma Santos, now at Universidad Nacional del Sur and CONICET, Argentina. In 2014, the MPI has been widely updated and expanded, including substantial new analyses of rural-urban poverty, inequality among the poor, destitution and changes to poverty over time, an Oxford release said.

Actress Khushboo quits DMK, not to join any political party

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]
Chennai : Actress Khushboo today quit the DMK and hit out at the party leadership for ignoring her 'hard work'.Khushboo, a star campaigner of the M Karunanidhi-led DMK, announced her decision to quit the party on a day when it

announced plans to restructure its district units as part of its revamp plan to prepare for the 2016 assembly elections.
The multi-lingual actress, who joined DMK in 2010 when the party ruled the state, voiced her displeasure over being
sidelined.

In her letter to party patriarch Karunanidhi, she noted 'with a heavy heart I undertake the decision to quit the party
as a member. It causes unbearable stress when my dedication and hard work for the party continues to be a one-way path.'

The actress, who remained inaccessible to media, however tweeted ruling out her joining any other political party.
Though DMK was in power till 2011, the party did not reward Khushboo with any post or a Rajya Sabha berth, which probably
she was hoping to get.

According to party sources, Khushboo earned the wrath of some senior leaders in the aftermath of certain remarks she
made over the leadership battle witnessed among Karunanidhi's sons M K Stalin and M K Alagiri.

She had to face angry protests from Stalin supporters for her remarks to a Tamil Weekly that the party believed in
democratic election of the leadership and no one could be prejudged to be the next leader just because Karunanidhi had
indicated his choice.

In her tweets today, Khushboo said, 'at times hard decisions have to be taken at the right time with a smil., I
have done just that. No point in pondering over something that hurts. Don't jump to conclusion. I am perfectly fine and so is
my life and family'.

'Professional decision taken.... let me see what life has in store', she said.

Khushboo, however, said she had highest regard for Karunanidhi and added 'Kalaignar is not a leader but a father
I never had... Nothing can take that away'.

DMK as part of its efforts to strengthen the party today announced that it would restructure district units, which it
enlarged from 34 to 65 in accordance with the six-member committee of leaders appointed to suggest measures to
rejuvinate the party for 2016 assembly polls.

The party also said it would hold organisational elections. PTI

Chinese woman rears 100,000 cockroaches in her house

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

Beijing: A woman in China has decided to turn her country home into a farm to raise cockroaches.

She now has 100,000 of these hardy insects that are used as an ingredient in traditional medicines in the country.

'They are my children, my babies,' said 37-year-old Yuan Meixia, a resident of Siqian in Fujian province, in an interview to the Southern Metropolis Daily, in which she also revealed the secrets of rearing these creatures.

Yuan decided to take this up for a living last year on seeing a report on the use of cockroaches in pharmacy and gastronomy that prompted her to make an initial investment of 10,000 yuan (around $1,600) to buy 20 kilos of this arthropod.

She keeps her colony enclosed in a house close to the forest which she visits every day to feed the roaches and provide them with the care they need.

'They are like children, they need to be fed adequately', said Yuan, who pays a lot of attention to her cockroaches.

In summer she sprays them with water to cool them and in winter she heats up the enclosure with a gas heater so that they do not feel cold.

Many of the doors in the house have been replaced by silk curtains and all the holes and cracks in the walls have been filled in with cement to prevent any of the cockroaches from escaping.

Although Yuan takes great care of them, she has no hesitation in drowning them in wash basins, drying them, placing them in plastic bags and selling them at a good price to pharmaceuticals in other parts of China.

The cockroaches Yuan raises are of the Eurycotis floridana variety, a variant that can easily be confused with the common American cockroaches that infest houses throughout the world, and that are used in many Chinese traditional medicines.

Yuan asserted that these cockroaches can fight cancer although she failed to substantiate her claims with scientific evidence.

Yuan's case is uncommon in China where there are cockroach farms but rarely family businesses, and ever since it has come to light, experts consulted by the media have warned that it can be dangerous to engage in this practice without sufficient sanitary controls as the roaches can escape and cause diseases.

In August 2013, at least a million cockroaches escaped from a Chinese farm in Jiangsu causing alarm in that eastern province and forcing authorities to disinfect all the areas nearby.

India to have 519 million mobile internet users by FY18

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk]

New Delhi: Driven by falling handset prices and rise in smartphone penetration, data subscribers in India are likely to grow an average 25% every year to reach 519 million by 2018 fiscal, a report by Morgan Stanley said.

In its report on India's telecom sector, Morgan Stanley said it believes internet users will rise to 330 million in 2016 financial year, driven by falling handset costs, higher smartphone penetration, faster bandwidth and higher internet content or online services.

"By FY2018, we expect data subscribers to grow at a 25% CAGR (compound average growth rate), from 210 million to 519 million and see a 35% CAGR in data usage to 750MB per subscriber, near the Asian average," the report said.

The report said over the last two years, smartphone prices in India have come down from $200 to $50.

As per telecom regulator Trai's data, total internet subscribers in the country at the end of September 2013 stood at 210 million.

Of those, 188 million (90% users) access it on mobile devices. Of the rest, 7 million were narrowband subscribers (with speed less than 256kpbs) and 15 million were broadband subscribers (with speed of over 256kbps).

"Data is the next growth leg. We expect data contribution to more than double to 23% of overall revenues (as against 10% currently) in the next two years," the report said.

The report said data growth will be driven by operator strategy of lower average revenue per mega byte (ARMB) for higher MB pack and operators having a strong data ecosystem, including strengthening spectrum portfolio.

"A 3G, 2GB pack in January 2013 cost Rs 750 or 38 paisa ARMB. Today a 2GB pack costs Rs 450 or 23-paisa ARMB," the report said.

Morgan Stanley said voice and data rates are the lowest for Indian operators as compared to Asian counterparts and the difference between voice rate per minute and data rate per MB is not significant.

"Thus, the risk of data cannibalizing voice is very low. Our case study on over the top (OTT) applications like WhatsApp and Skype indicates exponential rise in data volumes despite compression," it added.