NIA to trace source of Maoist video clip

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

Thiruvananthapuram: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will conduct a probe to trace the origin of a video clip featuring Maoist leader Rupesh. The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) will assist the NIA in the investigation.

However, the police suspect the incident as a campaign tactic adopted by the Maoists.

In the recently released video clip, Rupesh declares that they would carry out an armed revolution in the state with public support.

Police are making attempts to make a sketch of Rupesh's face from the blurry image in video. Efforts are on to identify the location.

In the wake of the developments, instructions have been given to enhance the combing operations in forests along Western Ghats.

IS-linked group claims French tourist's abduction in Algeria

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

Algiers:An Algerian armed group linked to the Islamic State (IS) Sunni extremist militants claimed responsibility for the abduction of a French tourist in Algeria, according to a video posted on internet by the group.

Earlier in the day, the French foreign ministry confirmed that its national was kidnapped in Algeria's Tizi Ouzou region Sunday after he had gone on holiday there, Xinhua reported.

The video shows the kidnapped French tourist surrounded by two armed and masked men. The masked man asked French President Francois Hollande to officially halt military intervention in Iraq within the forthcoming 24 hours, otherwise the French hostage would be beheaded.

The armed man presented himself as the spokesman of Abu Mohamad al-Adnani, leader of a group named Jound al-Khilafa (the Caliphate Soldiers), based in Algeria.

He said the members of his group are followers of IS and they kidnapped the French citizen in response to the call of IS chief, Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, to target westerners, including French, in retaliation to the US-led military campaign against IS positions in Iraq.

The French hostage also speaks in the video. He introduces himself as Herve Goutard, 50, and begs French President to do what he can to save his life.

Also Monday, the IS group called on its followers to attack Americans and French citizens after Washington and Paris launched air strikes and destroyed the group's targets in Iraq.

In a response to the threat, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve stressed that France was not afraid as it is prepared to confront such threats.

B.Ed. admission

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

The LBS Centre for Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, has invited applications online onwww.lbscentre.in upto October 1 for admissions to B.Ed. courses in various disciplines offered by the government, aided and private self-financing training colleges in the state, controlled by the Directorate of Collegiate Education, for the year 2014-15. Approximately 11,000 seats will be filled through the rank list prepared by the LBS Centre based on academic merit. Submit only one application. The application fee is Rs 500 (Rs 250 for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories) and should be paid in any branch of Federal Bank in the state before September 30. Bank chalan can be downloaded from the website www/lbscentre.in. The bank will provide chalan number while remitting the fee. Also, get a registration ID from the LBS Centre which are essential for submitting online application. Detailed instructions for submitting applications are given on the website link ‘Admission to B.Ed Course 2014.’ Take a print out of the application and send along with chalan receipt and self-attested copies of relevant certificates to the Director, LBS Centre for Science and Technology, Nandavanam, Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram-695033 so as to reach before 5 pm on October 7.

Mahila Mandiram inmate commits suicide

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]
POTHENCODE: An inmate of the Mahila Mandiram at Karyavattom committed suicide by consuming overdose of tablets. She has been identified as Ambili (50) of Balaramapuram. She leaves behind her husband and two children. She was in the Mahila Mandiram for the past five years estranged from her husband and children.

The mandiram authorities said that she was under treatment for some mental problems. Though she was taken to the hospital, her life could not be saved.

Student attempts suicide at St Theresa’s hostel

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]
KOCHI: A student allegedly tried to commit suicide at the hostel of St Theresa’s Convent on Sunday. The student reached the hostel a few days before from the children’s home in Kakkanad. She has been admitted at the General Hospital in Ernakulam in a serious condition.

She tried to commit suicide by consuming excess tablets.  The condition of the student in the ICU is progressing, informed hospital sources. She ate calcium tablets got from the camp held at the college. The police were not allowed to conduct an examination at the hostel. Further steps will be taken after taking her statement.

Pakistan appoints new ISI chief, 5 army commanders

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com
ISLAMABAD: Lt. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar was Monday appointed the new chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence in commander-level promotions announced Monday in the country's powerful army.

The announcement was made on Twitter by Maj Gen Asim Bajwa, director general of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Dawn online reported.

In other promotions, Maj Gen Hilal Hussain has been promoted Corps Commander Mangla, Ghayur Mahmood Corps Commander Gujranwala, Navid Mukhtar Corps Commander Karachi, Hidayat Ur Rehman Corps Commander Peshawar, and Nazir Butt incharge of Communications and Information Technology (C&IT), Bajwa announced over Twitter.

The announcement comes as current ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam and five other lieutenant generals are scheduled to retire from service in the first week of October.

The military officers retiring in October include Mangla corps commander Lt. Gen. Tariq Khan, Gujranwala corps commander Lt. Gen. Saleem Nawaz, Peshawar corps commander Lt. Gen. Khalid Rabbani and Karachi corps commander Lt. Gen. Sajjad Ghani.

The chief of the ISI is regarded as the army's most important official after the army chief himself.  The ISI chief is appointed by the prime minister, traditionally on the advice of the army chief.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave approval to the promotions on the recommendation of the Pakistan Army Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif.

Lt. Gen. Akhtar is a graduate of the Command and Staff College in Quetta, National Defence University and the Army War College, US.

He is from the Frontier Force Regiment and commanded an infantry brigade and infantry division in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Lt. Gen. Akhtar is also considered to have extensive experience of counter-insurgency from a previous posting in the border region of South Waziristan.

Citizens' freedom might be restricted for security: Australian PM

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]
CANBERRA: The Australian government is set to introduce counter-terrorism laws to crack down on Australians fighting for militant or terrorist groups, media reported.

Australians have been warned that their freedom might have to be restricted for the sake of national security, the Canberra Times reported Monday.

The decision was taken after Australia's terror threat level was increased from medium to high. In a speech to parliament Monday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the "delicate balance" between freedom and security would have to shift for some time in light of the heightened terror risk.

Abbott warned that there could be "more restrictions on some so that there can be more protection for others". He said the curtailing of some freedoms was necessary to send an "unambiguous message" that Australians who joined terrorist groups would face the full force of the law.

"Regrettably, for some time to come, the delicate balance between freedom and security may have to shift. After all, the most basic freedom of all is the freedom to walk the streets unharmed and to sleep safe in our beds at night," Abbott said.

The prime minister told the House of Representatives that new security laws would make it an offence to travel to certain areas, such as Raqqa in Syria, without good reason. "My unambiguous message to all Australians who fight with terrorist groups is that you will be arrested, prosecuted and jailed for a very long time; and that our laws are being changed to make it easier to keep potential terrorists off our streets," Abbott said.

The opposition is likely to support the government's new counter-terror legislation. "We must ensure that in legislating to protect our national security, the parliament is careful not to damage the very qualities and liberties that we are seeking to defend from terrorist threats," said Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten.

3 Indian-origin leaders elected to New Zealand's Parliament

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]
MELBOURNE: Three Indian-origin politicians, including a woman, have been elected to New Zealand's Parliament in the just-concluded general elections.

Kanwaljeet Singh Bakshi, Dr Parmjeet Parmar and Mahesh Bindra have successfully made it to the 121-member Parliament, the New Zealand Herald reported today.

Delhi-born Bakshi and Pune graduated Parmar fought the elections as the candidates of the ruling National party while Mumbai-born Bindra was elected as the New Zealand First party candidate.

While Bakshi is all set to begin his third term in the Parliament, Parmar and Bindra are ready to make their debut, taking the growing contribution of the Kiwi Indians in New Zealand to the parliament as well.

Bakshi is both, New Zealand's first Indian and first Sikh Member of Parliament. He was first elected in the 2008 elections.

Ranked 48th on National's party list, Parmar will make her way to the parliament as a list MP.

Bindra contested Mount Roskill, and also prepares for parliament as a list MP after being ranked 11th on the New Zealand First party list.

The National party, led by Prime Minister John Key, won 61 seats as compared to 59 in last elections, claiming 48.06 per cent of the total votes cast from 47.31 per cent in 2011.
Following the election results, Bindra says he is the living proof that his party New Zealand First and its leader Winston Peters are not anti-immigration and anti-Asian.

"Mr Peters was perceived by the Indian community for some time as being a politician who doesn't want immigrants. That was a myth and that myth has now been dispelled," Bindra was quoted by the paper as saying.

A political science and psychology graduate, Bindra moved to New Zealand in 2002 with his family.

Bakshi graduated from the University of Delhi in 1985 and moved to New Zealand in 2001 with his family.

Parmar, who lives in Auckland, was born in India and migrated to New Zealand in 1995. She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Auckland and Bachelor and Masters degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Pune in India.

umo wrestlers make babies cry - it's a thing

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

So much for the argument that leaving a baby to cry can result in brain damage.

These Japanese sumo wrestlers believe the exact opposite: That a good long wail can be healthy for babies.

That, at least, is the theory behind the bizarre 'crying sumo' or Nakizumo festival held at the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo earlier this month.

University club sumo wrestlers hold babies aloft in the contest and try to make them cry. Whichever baby cries first, is the winner.

If both babies cry at the same time, the one bawling loudest is declared victor.

The babies are persuaded to tears by a sumo judge, who orders them to 'nake, nake' ('cry, cry') as the wrestlers growl and make faces.

Of course, even the best laid plans sometimes go awry, and the babies end up laughing instead. At that point the wrestlers don ferocious masks, which usually finishes the job.

The babies are held aloft so that their cries are closer to heaven. During the 400-year-old competition, their parents pray for the good health of their children.

Evil spirits are supposedly driven away during the festival, which takes place across Japan.

Childcare expert Dr Penelope Leach made headlines last week when she claimed that fresh research proves that long periods of crying can damage developing brains, leading to learning difficulties later in life.

Thousands protest in Moscow against Russian intervention in Ukraine

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

Moscow: Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Sunday in downtown Moscow against the war in neighbouring Ukraine and, in particular, against the Kremlin's support for the pro-Russian rebels there.

'The March for Peace', a demonstration organised by the extraparliamentary opposition most critical of the Kremlin, kicked off in Pushkin Square, where protesters gathered carrying Ukrainian flags, although Russian flags were also in evidence.

'Putin, enough lying and war-making' was one of the slogans of the march, Efe quoted Solidarity opposition movement head Alexander Riklin as saying.

March organisers demand that Russian President Vladimir Putin stop supporting the insurgents in eastern Ukraine and punish those who forced Russian soldiers to fight on foreign territory.

The huge march was scheduled to end up on Sakharov Avenue, the site of anti-government protests against election fraud in late 2011.

'Hands off Ukraine', 'No to war' and 'Russian troops out of Ukraine' were other slogans that could be read on the many posters and signs reviewed one by one by the security forces, something never before seen in this country, Efe reported citing online daily Gazeta.ru.

Some homemade posters with slogans against Putin, such as 'Russia without Putin' and 'Putin kaputt', were seized by the police.

Chief march organiser Boris Nemtsov, a strident critic of the Kremlin, said that despite the peace memorandum signed last week in Minsk between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels, the threat of all-out war in Ukraine is increasing.

'The ceasefire in Ukraine is fragile. Putin does not want it, since he would like to create a New Russia from Donetsk and Luhansk to Odessa, unite it with Transdniestria and obtain a corridor to the Crimea,' he said.

In recent weeks, the Russian extraparliamentary opposition has denounced the deaths of Russian soldiers on Ukrainian territory, although the Kremlin has insistently denied deploying regular troops in the neighbouring country.