UP govt has failed to check clashes: Digvijaya

New Delhi: Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh Sunday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government, saying it has failed to control communal clashes in the state."SP (Samajwadi Party) government's track record in this tenure is bad. Haven't been able to control communal forces in UP. Even BSP's (Bahujan Samaj Party) was better," Singh tweeted."I appeal to all in Muzaffarnagar and other areas in western UP to bring peace and communal harmony to fight communal forces," he said.Six people, including a television journalist, were killed Saturday following communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

UP govt has failed to check clashes: Digvijaya

New Delhi: Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh Sunday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government, saying it has failed to control communal clashes in the state."SP (Samajwadi Party) government's track record in this tenure is bad. Haven't been able to control communal forces in UP. Even BSP's (Bahujan Samaj Party) was better," Singh tweeted."I appeal to all in Muzaffarnagar and other areas in western UP to bring peace and communal harmony to fight communal forces," he said.Six people, including a television journalist, were killed Saturday following communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

Tokyo wins 2020 Olympic bid

Buenos Aires: Tokyo Saturday won the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games, beating Istanbul in the second round of voting here. Istanbul, which was bidding for the fifth time, beat Madrid in a head-to-head vote after the two cities were tied in the first round, reports Xinhua.

Tokyo received the most number of votes in the first round to advance.Some supporters of Istanbul had initially thought the Turkish city had been awarded the Olympics before International Olympic President Jacques Rogge clarified that Istanbul had merely entered the second round.The Japanese capital will be the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice, having also hosted the 1964 Games.
Tokyo was making its second straight bid after losing the 2016 race to Rio de Janeiro.

Tokyo wins 2020 Olympic bid

Buenos Aires: Tokyo Saturday won the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games, beating Istanbul in the second round of voting here. Istanbul, which was bidding for the fifth time, beat Madrid in a head-to-head vote after the two cities were tied in the first round, reports Xinhua.

Tokyo received the most number of votes in the first round to advance.Some supporters of Istanbul had initially thought the Turkish city had been awarded the Olympics before International Olympic President Jacques Rogge clarified that Istanbul had merely entered the second round.The Japanese capital will be the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice, having also hosted the 1964 Games.
Tokyo was making its second straight bid after losing the 2016 race to Rio de Janeiro.

Indefinite bus strike from Monday

Kochi: Private bus operators will undertake an indefinite strike from Monday onwards to protest against inspection of buses for speed governors.  In the wake of the accident in Malappuram district which claimed 14 lives, the Kerala State Motor Vehicles Department has decided to cancel 'fitness' certificates of buses operating without speed governors.

The private bus operators forum said installing speed governors in all buses is literally impossible. However, the motor vehicle department made it clear that inspection of buses would continue despite the strike call. Transport Commissioner Rishiraj Singh had directed the department to urgently check whether speed governors in buses were in proper condition following the bus mishap at Chelakkad. Of the 56 buses that was inspected in Kochi on Sunday, 2 were found to be without speed governors. The Motor Vehicles dept decided to cancel the services of these buses and issued stop memos. In the wake of this, the bus owners association held an urgent meeting in Kochi and planned to go on indefinite strike.

Indefinite bus strike from Monday

Kochi: Private bus operators will undertake an indefinite strike from Monday onwards to protest against inspection of buses for speed governors.  In the wake of the accident in Malappuram district which claimed 14 lives, the Kerala State Motor Vehicles Department has decided to cancel 'fitness' certificates of buses operating without speed governors.

The private bus operators forum said installing speed governors in all buses is literally impossible. However, the motor vehicle department made it clear that inspection of buses would continue despite the strike call. Transport Commissioner Rishiraj Singh had directed the department to urgently check whether speed governors in buses were in proper condition following the bus mishap at Chelakkad. Of the 56 buses that was inspected in Kochi on Sunday, 2 were found to be without speed governors. The Motor Vehicles dept decided to cancel the services of these buses and issued stop memos. In the wake of this, the bus owners association held an urgent meeting in Kochi and planned to go on indefinite strike.

US shooting: Indian American community in shock

Washington: The local Indian American community was in shock as a vigil was held outside Saleh's Market in Elkhart, Indiana, where two Sikh men, Jagtar Bhatti and Pawan Preet Singh, running a grocery store were shot and killed during an attempted robbery. Both were natives of Punjab. Condemning the deadly attack, Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), said the Sikh community is living under the shadow of fear and insecurity. NAPA in a statement urged the US government to leave no stone unturned to take all necessary measures to protect the lives and property of .

A memorial now sits outside the market, according to Fox 28.com. People have left candles, flowers, stuffed animals, and more for Bhatti,55, who hailed from Preet Nagar in Jalandhar and 20-year-old Pawan Singh from Munnan village in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. A group of people gathered around the memorial Friday night to share stories of the two men, the news site said. They said Bhatti and Singh were extremely generous and well known in the community. The Elkhart Police Department has arrested 28-year-old Kevin Moore, said to be a regular customer at the market for the murder Thursday morning.

People at the vigil also said the men who were killed as they worked inside Saleh's Market were like family. They were always looking out for everybody in the neighborhood and offering advice when they could. The mourners said they aren't just devastated by the loss of their friends but also by the shock of who is suspected of killing them. Those at the vigil say they knew Moore, they called him 'Lorenzo.' Dionell Hill and Kiwhonei Nichols were quoted as saying Bhatti and Singh also knew Moore and no one ever expected him to do something like this. 
Flyers were handed out at the vigil urging people to come to Mary Beck Elementary School Sep 15th to talk about forming a neighborhood association.

US shooting: Indian American community in shock

Washington: The local Indian American community was in shock as a vigil was held outside Saleh's Market in Elkhart, Indiana, where two Sikh men, Jagtar Bhatti and Pawan Preet Singh, running a grocery store were shot and killed during an attempted robbery. Both were natives of Punjab. Condemning the deadly attack, Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), said the Sikh community is living under the shadow of fear and insecurity. NAPA in a statement urged the US government to leave no stone unturned to take all necessary measures to protect the lives and property of .

A memorial now sits outside the market, according to Fox 28.com. People have left candles, flowers, stuffed animals, and more for Bhatti,55, who hailed from Preet Nagar in Jalandhar and 20-year-old Pawan Singh from Munnan village in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. A group of people gathered around the memorial Friday night to share stories of the two men, the news site said. They said Bhatti and Singh were extremely generous and well known in the community. The Elkhart Police Department has arrested 28-year-old Kevin Moore, said to be a regular customer at the market for the murder Thursday morning.

People at the vigil also said the men who were killed as they worked inside Saleh's Market were like family. They were always looking out for everybody in the neighborhood and offering advice when they could. The mourners said they aren't just devastated by the loss of their friends but also by the shock of who is suspected of killing them. Those at the vigil say they knew Moore, they called him 'Lorenzo.' Dionell Hill and Kiwhonei Nichols were quoted as saying Bhatti and Singh also knew Moore and no one ever expected him to do something like this. 
Flyers were handed out at the vigil urging people to come to Mary Beck Elementary School Sep 15th to talk about forming a neighborhood association.

US Senate panel releases 13 videos of Syria chemical attack

WASHINGTON: A US Senate intelligence panel has released 13 videos showing images of the chemical attack in Syria allegedly carried out by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as the White House pressed its case for military action in the strife-torn country.Some of the graphic images of the chemical attack have been shown in the videos, which come days ahead of the debate and vote in the Senate on the resolution to authorize US President Barack Obama to launch 'limited' military strikes against the Assad regime.

The videos, first played to the members of the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday were first leaked to CNN, which many media outlets said is part of an effort to build public opinion on the Syria attack. The Obama administration has accused President Assad's forces of killing 1,429 people in a poison-gas attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, a charge denied by the Syrian government. Some of the latest opinion polls have showed that the appetite for another war in the US is very low.

The Senate intelligence committee, in a statement, said that the 13 videos were compiled by the US Open Source Center from footage taken in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, the day of the alleged attack. 'All of the videos were posted on YouTube by pro-Syrian opposition users,' the committee said. 'With one exception, all 13 videos were posted by a pro-opposition internet news channel that consistently posts user-created videos concerning the Syrian conflict. The news channel does not primarily generate content, but instead re-posts content originally posted by others,' it said.

The Senate intelligence committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said early this week that she asked for the DVD to provide 'specific instances of evidence, largely victims, and what we see means, what pinpointed eyes mean, what the convulsions mean, a number of aspects.' 'They took 170 videos and siphoned them down to 13, which have very probative points in them, and dispositive, with respect to the use of chemical weapons,' she said. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration continued to garner support both inside the Congress and at the international level for their plans of an attack on the Syrian regime.

The US Senate is expected to vote on it early this week, even as secretary of state John Kerry is travelling in Europe garnering international support. Obama himself was on phone most of yesterday calling members of the Congress stressing the need of holding the Assad regime accountable for using chemical weapons against its own people in violation of international norms. Obama received an update from his chief of Staff Denis McDonough yesterday on the administration's latest consultations with members of Congress. Obama, also received support from his former top general and CIA director general (rtd) David Petraeus, who urged the Congress to vote in favor of the Syria attack authorization resolution, arguing that not doing so at this point of time to encourage countries like North Korea and Iran to take similar measures to kill their own people. 'Failure of Congress to approve the president's request would have serious ramifications not just in the Middle East but around the world,' Petraeus told POLITICO. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and former defence secretary Robert M Gates have also endorsed Obama's plan on Syria.
PT

US Senate panel releases 13 videos of Syria chemical attack

WASHINGTON: A US Senate intelligence panel has released 13 videos showing images of the chemical attack in Syria allegedly carried out by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as the White House pressed its case for military action in the strife-torn country.Some of the graphic images of the chemical attack have been shown in the videos, which come days ahead of the debate and vote in the Senate on the resolution to authorize US President Barack Obama to launch 'limited' military strikes against the Assad regime.

The videos, first played to the members of the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday were first leaked to CNN, which many media outlets said is part of an effort to build public opinion on the Syria attack. The Obama administration has accused President Assad's forces of killing 1,429 people in a poison-gas attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, a charge denied by the Syrian government. Some of the latest opinion polls have showed that the appetite for another war in the US is very low.

The Senate intelligence committee, in a statement, said that the 13 videos were compiled by the US Open Source Center from footage taken in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, the day of the alleged attack. 'All of the videos were posted on YouTube by pro-Syrian opposition users,' the committee said. 'With one exception, all 13 videos were posted by a pro-opposition internet news channel that consistently posts user-created videos concerning the Syrian conflict. The news channel does not primarily generate content, but instead re-posts content originally posted by others,' it said.

The Senate intelligence committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said early this week that she asked for the DVD to provide 'specific instances of evidence, largely victims, and what we see means, what pinpointed eyes mean, what the convulsions mean, a number of aspects.' 'They took 170 videos and siphoned them down to 13, which have very probative points in them, and dispositive, with respect to the use of chemical weapons,' she said. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration continued to garner support both inside the Congress and at the international level for their plans of an attack on the Syrian regime.

The US Senate is expected to vote on it early this week, even as secretary of state John Kerry is travelling in Europe garnering international support. Obama himself was on phone most of yesterday calling members of the Congress stressing the need of holding the Assad regime accountable for using chemical weapons against its own people in violation of international norms. Obama received an update from his chief of Staff Denis McDonough yesterday on the administration's latest consultations with members of Congress. Obama, also received support from his former top general and CIA director general (rtd) David Petraeus, who urged the Congress to vote in favor of the Syria attack authorization resolution, arguing that not doing so at this point of time to encourage countries like North Korea and Iran to take similar measures to kill their own people. 'Failure of Congress to approve the president's request would have serious ramifications not just in the Middle East but around the world,' Petraeus told POLITICO. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and former defence secretary Robert M Gates have also endorsed Obama's plan on Syria.
PT