Item girls should be declared prostitutes, says Hindu Mahasabha leader

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NEW DELHI: A Hindu Mahasabha leader is at the centre of a controversy over his demand that actresses performing item numbers in films wearing "skimpy" outfits be branded as prostitutes, sparking an outrage.

The demand by Navin Tyagi, general secretary of the UP unit of Hindu Mahasabha, a right wing outfit, was condemned as "regressive" by political parties and the National Commission for Women (NCW).

Tyagi also sought a ban on wearing of skirts and jeans by girl students in schools and even said they should not be allowed to carry mobile phones.

"The girls who perform item numbers in films and remove clothes should be declared prostitutes. We feel the women who earn money by indulging in obscenity are prostitutes. They are spreading filth in society," Tyagi said, adding he will take the matter to the Supreme Court.

National Secretary of the outfit Swami Chakrapani, however, distanced himself from the controversial remarks terming them as "wrong statement". "We do not know about it. We are seeking details," he said.

Asked about Tyagi's plan to take the matter to the apex court, Chakrapani said he was free to do so.

NCW Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam strongly condemned Tyagi's comments and said it will examine opposing such a move if he goes to the Supreme Court.

"It is the usual regressive mindset that is coming out. One can turn around and ask what would they call the men who watch these women in their so called skimpy clothes. Anybody is welcome to go to the Supreme Court.

"But I have enough trust in the apex court to hope that they will crush and dismiss this sort of irrelevant opinion," she said.

Congress Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said he was shocked by the comments and said it was time the society wakes up.

"I am shocked by such parochial, obnoxious organisation who in their quest to govern the society come out with such dictate which were there in 15th Century and not even true for those centuries," he said.

BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra also slammed Mr Tyagi and said the party was for freedom of the society. "We are proud to have a culture where women have led from the front."

Another video showing Rohtak sisters beating alleged teaser is out

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CHANDIGARH: Another video of the two Rohtak sisters, who grabbed news headlines by thrashing molesters on a moving bus, has surfaced showing one them beating up a youth in a park for allegedly teasing them.

 

In the 30-second video, which has gone viral on social media and was also telecast on news channels today, one of the sisters is seen thrashing the youth in Rohtak.

When contacted, one of the sisters told PTI that the incident took place about a month ago. The girl claimed that she and her sister were coming out of Rohtak bus stand when some youth teased them.

 

Later, when they went to the HUDA park outside the bus stand, some youth sitting on a bench allegedly teased them.

 

They confronted the boys and an argument broke out, following which, one of the sisters beat up the youth who then ran away.

 

Asked why they did not report the matter to the police, the alleged victim of eve teasing said that as the boys ran away from the spot they did not register the complaint.

 

The girls refuted the charge that they had released the videos for publicity.

A police official said that the second video was being investigated.

 

As per preliminary information someone had directly sent the video clip to television news channels in Delhi, he said.

 

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had recommended award yesterday for their bravery in the Haryana Roadways bus.

 

Meanwhile, residents of Aasan village to whom the three accused belong, held a meeting in the village today and decided to defend the youth. The villagers alleged that the boys have been falsely implicated.

One of the youth had bought a ticket for a sick woman and the seat alloted to her at Rohtak bus stand was occupied by the two sisters, the villagers claimed adding the dispute arose over the vacation of the seat.

 

Some of the villagers later went to the District Administrative Complex at Rohtak and narrated their side of the story to the media persons.

 

The two girls will be honoured for their bravery on Republic Day. The state government has suspended driver and conductor of the bus, Khattar said yesterday.

 

Taking serious note of the incident, Haryana government had also asked the state Director General of Police (DGP) and state transport department to take steps for ensuring security of passengers especially women travelling in roadways buses.

 

Praising courage of the girls who opposed misdemeanour of the three youth, Khattar said the girls will be given cash awards on the occasion of Republic Day.

 

The two college-going sisters had confronted three alleged molesters inside a moving bus, with one of the girls even hitting the youths with her belt.

 

The entire incident, recorded by a passenger on mobile phone, went viral both on television and social media. It showed the two girls using hands and belt to thrash the trio, who appeared to be taken by surprise.

 

Meanwhile, four women of Asan village, from where the accused youth belong, gave an affidavit in Sadar police station at Rohtak claming that the youth were not involved in molestation of the girls.

 

The women claimed that they were also travelling in the same bus. One of them, an old woman, said that the youth were not involved in any crime in the bus.

 

"It was a fight over seat in which the boys did not say anything to the girls," Bimla claimed adding that she was prepared to give statement in court. She claimed that the youth never teased the girls.

"Instead, the boys jumped from the bus to save themselves from the girls who later followed them," Bimla said.

 

"The boys didn't even raise their voice...bestowing honour on girls on the part of government without proper inquiry is incorrect...," Bimla said.

 

Meanwhile, the girls claimed that they had always attacked boys who tried to tease them.

 

"Soon, many more such videos will come out in days to come," one of the girls said.

 

Meanwhile, Station House of Officer (SHO) Gajender Singh said that affidavits given by the women will also be part of the ongoing probe into the case.

 

The father of one of the alleged accused said that "injustice is being done to the boys."

 

"The girls took to unnecessary fight after they were politely asked by the boys to vacate the seat for an ailing woman," he said. Chief Secretary P K Gupta said that matter will be investigated.

Egyptian court sentences 188 people to death

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Cairo : An Egyptian court today sentenced 188 people to death pending the opinion of the country's top religious authority, the latest mass death sentence handed down by the country's judicial system despite widespread international criticism.

The 188 were charged over the killing of 11 policemen last year in Kerdasa, a restive town west of Cairo considered
a militant stronghold. The attack, which saw the policemen's bodies mutilated, is considered one of the country's grisliest
assaults on security forces.

The defendants also were accused of attempting to kill 10 more policemen, damaging a police station, setting police cars
on fire and possessing heavy weapons.

The attack happened on the same day that security forces brutally cleared two protest camps of ousted Islamist
President Mohammed Morsi's supporters, killing hundreds.

Protesters were demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group.

Some 22,000 people have been arrested since Morsi's ouster, including most of the Brotherhood's top leaders, as
well as large numbers of others swept up by police during pro-Morsi protests.

Today's sentence requires the opinion of Egypt's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti. The court is scheduled
to issue a final verdict on January 24. Defendants then can appeal. Security officials said 143 of the 188 defendants are
in custody. Those not held will receive automatic retrials under Egyptian law. The officials spoke on the condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

Egypt has been sharply criticised for recent mass death sentences largely targeting Islamists. Earlier this year, a
judge in the southern city of Minya sentenced more than 1,200 people to death in two mass trials. The number of death
sentences, initially the most in recent memory anywhere in the world, was later reduced to some 200.

Those cases also involve attacks on police stations and the killing of police officers following the dispersal of the
protest camps. (AP)

Luminaries and fans gather for Phillip Hughes' funeral

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Macksville: Cricket luminaries and fans Wednesday gathered for the emotional funeral of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, whose death from a freak on-field injury brought his grieving hometown to a standstill.

Hughes, 25, and on the cusp of a recall to the Test team, died from bleeding on the brain last Thursday after being hit on the base of the skull by a rising ball at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

His tragic death stunned Australia, where cricket is considered the national game, and prompted the rescheduling of the upcoming India Test series, while fans around the world placed cricket bats outside their front doors as a mark of respect.

In Hughes' small hometown of Macksville, on Australia's east coast, tributes to the opener who scored three centuries in 26 Tests hung in shop windows, while ribbons in the green and gold colours of the Australian Test team adorned telephone poles.

'It's so huge. It's so massive,' said local resident Bethany Simmons of the response to Hughes' death as she looked at the tributes with her children.

'It's so shocking, you never expect this to happen in cricket. Everyone knows the risks of rugby... but this was just so shocking. And he had so much potential.'

Macksville itself, with a population of just 2,500, has been bracing a funeral to be attended by luminaries such as Shane Warne, Richard Hadlee, and Hughes' first Test skipper Ricky Ponting.

Brian Lara, who had been in Australia, is representing the West Indies Cricket Board which noted that 'the entire cricket world is in shock and a state of grief'.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott also planned to attend.

Current Australian captain Michael Clarke, a close friend of Hughes, will be among the pallbearers and deliver a tribute during the service which starts at 2:00pm (0300 GMT) and will be televised live.

It will open with the song 'Forever Young', while Hughes' cousin Nino Ramunno, brother Jason and sister Megan will deliver the eulogy before Elton John's 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' closes proceedings.

Hughes' parents Greg and Virginia and siblings have invited the whole town to the service at Macksville High School, with about 1,000 expected to cram into the hall and space for 4,000 more in overflow areas.

After the service, the hearse will travel down the town's main street, with mourners expected to line the procession to bid farewell to one of their favourite sons.

'There's not one Australian who can't be with us here in Macksville to celebrate Phillip's life,' Hughes' manager James Henderson said.

'That's something, again, that's been very exceptionally moving for the family, to think that the whole of the country can stop and join them in celebrating his life and sending him off in the way that they really want to.

'Hughesy was a really no-fuss guy and I know he would be looking down at all of this and wondering what the hell's going on,' he added.

The funeral is a huge event in Macksville, with shops closing and residents in mourning. Just outside town, one business created a huge tribute using three cherry pickers as cricket stumps and putting Hughes' Test number 408 across them.

At Hughes's old primary school, St Patrick's, dozens of bats lined the front fence, many bearing messages remembering the hugely popular opener who was not out on 63 when he was struck.

Hughes died after his vertebral artery split when hit by the ball, leading to massive bleeding in his brain.

As she walked the main street looking at the tributes, local resident Zan Moc said she wished the Hughes family well.

'They gave us their son -- I just hope that we can all support them,' she said.AFP

App that stops you from 'drunk' calling your girlfriend

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New York: Drunk Mode is an app that stops you from making those late night calls to your girlfriend.

Described as a 'condom for your phone', Drunk Mode stops you from doing foolish things with your phone when you have had a few drinks, IBTimes reported.

The new app, created by 23-year-old Joshua Anton, blocks you from calling certain contacts and does not allow you to post on social media networks for up to 12 hours after a drinking session.

It has a feature called 'breadcrumbs' that allows you to track group members who disappeared on a night out.

You could also recover Snapchats that you had sent the night before.

The app is on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, looking to raise funds for release.

The creators have big plans for the future, including adding features like where to get a taxi or bus and a map to tell you where the best parties are, the report added.

Dubai to invest $32-bn to build world's largest airport

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Mumbai : To further secure its position as the world's aviation hub, Dubai Airports is building a whopping USD 32-billion greenfield airport at the upcoming Dubai World Central, 30 km off the present international airport which already is the second busiest in the world.

The proposed new airport will become the world's largest aviation facility on completion and will have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible with a length of 4.5 km each.

'We are planning a USD 32-billion brand new airport at the Dubai World Central at Al Maktoum, 30 km off the present
Dubai facility. In the first phase, the new airport will be able to handle 120 million passengers, which will go up to 200
million by 2020, when the project is completed,' Dubai Airports Corporate Communications Head Julius Baumann told
PTI.

'On completion, the new airport will be the world's largest airport, with each concourse the size of seven football fields and have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible,' Baumann said.

The other features include 200 aircraft stands for wide bodied aircraft, four concourses connected via six airport
trains to two terminals, which in turn will be linked to the city's metro network. When complete, the mega-hub will
have total annual capacity exceeding 200 million passengers and 12 million tonne of freight.

The existing Al Maktoum International opened its doors to passengers on October 27, 2013 and three airlines are
operating from here. It has one A380 capable runway, 64 remote stands, one cargo terminal with annual capacity for 250,000
tonne and a fully operational passenger terminal building designed to accommodate 5 million passengers annually.

The Dubai International Airport is the world's second busiest airport after the London Heathrow and is on course to
become the global aviation hub, thanks to its geographical location and the availability of cheap fuel. The first phase of the new airport includes a single A380 compatible runway, a passenger terminal with capacity of 5 million passengers which is expandable to 7 million; a cargo terminal with a capacity of 250,000 tonne per annum and expandable to 600,000 tonne and a 92-metre air traffic control tower.

The state-owned Dubai Airports already operates the Dubai International Airport in the heart of the Arabian megapolis and the Al Maktoum International Airport at the upcoming Dubai World Central (DWC).

The DWC is a 140 sq km new international city being built to de-congest the present city, Dubai Airports' Marketing & Corporate Communications Manager Zaigham Ali said, adding the work on new airport will begin early next year.

Apart from the new airport plan, the Emirate is also expanding the Dubai International Airport with a USD 7.8
billion investment to take the capacity to 100 million by 2020. This project was started in 2011 and will be completed
by 2016.

The expansion of the Dubai International include a new concourse (Concourse D), expansion of Terminal 2 to twice its
current capacity, refurbishment of Terminal 1, and additional aircraft stands, taxiways and aprons among others.

Dubai International, Baumann said handled 66.43 million passengers in 2013, and has being growing 15.5 per cent per
annum since its launch in 1960. In 2013, it was named the second busiest airport in the world after the London Heathrow.

Ali said India is the largest source market for the airport, with an airline network that connects Dubai with 18
cities in the country.

In 2013, the airport saw a 14.3 percent increase in passenger numbers from India at 8.5 million and in the first 9
months of this year, the number has already crossed 7 million.

Ali added the company is confident of crossing the last year's mark this year.

Explaining the rationale for a gigantic new airport, Baumann said the airport's forecast figures for unconstrained
passenger traffic show 126 million passengers by 2020, and 300 million passengers by 2050.

Additionally, the Terminal 2 will double in capacity by 2015. Concourse D of the airport, slated to open by mid 2015,
will provide for 100 more aircraft and taking the figure up to 80 million passengers.

In all, the expansion projects will take the airport's passenger capacity to a little over 100 million passengers,
Ali said.

With a built-up area of 1,972,474 sqm, the Dubai International Airport comprises three terminals and ranks
among the world's top two busiest airports for international passengers, serving over 125 airlines flying to over 260
destinations, as per the Airports Council International.

On the economic impact of the aviation sector in Baumann, quoting an Oxford Economics report said, aviation will
contribute USD 53.1 billion to Dubai's economy, which is 37.5 per cent to its GDP and will support over 750,000 jobs by the
turn of 2020.

The aviation sector as a whole contributed USD 26.7 billion to the Dubai economy in 2013, which was almost 27 per
cent of the national GDP and supported 416,500 jobs accounting for 21 per cent of the Emirates' total employment.

Passenger traffic in September totalled 5,942,628 compared to 5,407,326 recorded in the same month last year,
an increase of 9.9 per cent. January-September rose 6.2 per cent to 52,422,547, up from 49,379,165, while in 2013, the
passenger traffic stood 66,431,533, up 15.2 per cent from 2012. PTI

Vegetable oil component helps combat gastric ulcers

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New York: Linolenic acid, a component of vegetable oils, is key to destroying the bacteria strongly associated with gastric ulcers and cancer, a new study says.

The findings could lead to new treatment for gastric diseases.

'Current Helicobacter pylori bacterium treatments are facing a major challenge - antibiotic resistance,' said Liangfang Zhang, professor at the University of California' San Diego School of Medicine.

'Our goal was to develop a nanotherapeutic that can tolerate the harsh gastric environment, kill H. pylori and avoid resistance,' Zhang added.

To combat the infection caused by Helicobacter pylori the researchers developed LipoLLA, a therapeutic nanoparticle that contains the vegetable oil component linolenic acid.

In mice, LipoLLA was safe and more effective against the infection than standard antibiotic treatments.

What is more, LipoLLA was not toxic to the mice and the bacteria did not develop resistance to the therapy.

'This is the first step to verify that we can make this therapeutic nanoparticle and demonstrate that it works to reduce H. pylori colonisation. We are now working to further enhance the particle, making it more stable and more effective,' Zhang said.

The findings appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Blankets and pillows put babies at sudden death risk

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Washington: Soft objects and loose bedding - such as thick blankets, quilts and pillows - can obstruct an infant's airway and pose a risk of suffocation, according to a research.

Nearly 55 percent of US infants are placed to sleep with bedding that increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), reveal the findings from a research campaign called 'Safe to Sleep', which was conducted by the US National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other institutions.

'Parents have good intentions but may not understand that blankets, quilts and pillows increase a baby's risk of SIDS and accidental suffocation,' said Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, the study's first author and senior scientist in CDC's Division of Reproductive Health in the US.

Relatives may give parents quilts or fluffy blankets as presents for the new baby and they feel obligated to use them.

'But babies should be placed for sleep on a firm, safety approved mattress and fitted sheet, without any other bedding,' Shapiro-Mendoza added.

'Soft objects, toys, crib bumpers, quilts, comforters and loose bedding should be kept out of the baby's sleep area,' Shapiro-Mendoza said.

Based on responses from nearly 20,000 care givers, the researchers reported that although the usage of such potentially unsafe bedding items declined from 85.9 percent in 1993-1995, it still remained high at 54.7 percent, in 2008-2010.

As part of the survey, care givers were asked whether infants were placed to sleep on such items as blankets, bean bag chairs, rugs, sheepskin, cushions or pillows.

Care givers were also asked whether the infant was covered with bedding materials such as blankets, quilts, comforters, sheepskin or pillows.

The 'Safe to Sleep' research campaign results advise against blankets or other coverings, recommend sleep clothing, such as one-piece sleepers, and keeping the room at a comfortable temperature.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

No Indian in Guinea infected by Ebola virus

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Accra (Ghana) : No Indian national in Guinea is known to have been infected by the Ebola virus disease, according to an Indian national based in Conakry.

Guinea is one of the worst affected West African countries, the other two being Sierra Leone and Liberia. So far, the disease has claimed 1,214 lives out of 2,047 reported cases in Guinea.

Conakry-based John Rao told IANS on phone that since the outbreak of the disease, the Indian community has coped 'quite well, indeed,' adding that, 'there has been no panic in the community'.

'Some people have sent back their families to India. All usual precautions like washing hands are being taken,' he said

Currently, there are about 500 Indians based in the country in various industries agriculture, and trading.

'A number of Indian professionals (engineers and in other fields) are also working in Guinea,' Rao said.

Amongst them is Topaz Group of Multi-Industries, owned by the Honorary Indian Consul, Ashok Vaswaney, which is one of the biggest employers in the country.

Rao praised Vaswaney for providing regular updates on the Ebola situation and the various precautions needed to be taken.

'They (the consul office) have also provided all consular assistance for those wishing to travel back to India,' he added.

'The Indian community has extended assistance to the Guinea government's efforts to fight the disease and has donated generously toward the same,' Rao said.

The Guinean government is itself facing a big problem to deal with the disease because of the attitude of the people who do not want to accept its seriousness which is one reason why it had spread so fast among some communities.

As a result, the country's President, Alpha Conde, has threatened to use force to crack down on the people who were still not following simple rules to contain the disease.

In September, eight members of an Ebola awareness team were murdered by angry villagers and President Conde had said that 'there are still people who think Ebola is fiction'.

'If people don't want to be treated, we will use force because we won't allow the illness to spread despite all our efforts,' he added.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says a total of 15,351 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola have been reported in six affected countries -- Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain, and the US -- and two previously affected countries -- Nigeria, Senegal -- as of Nov 18.

There have been 5,459 reported deaths. A total of 588 healthcare workers are known to have been infected with EVD: 94 in Guinea, 341 in Liberia, two in Mali; 11 in Nigeria, 136 in Sierra Leone, one in Spain, and three in the United States of America (two were infected in the US and one in Guinea). A total of 337 HCWs have died.

Former union minister A.R. Antulay is dead

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Mumbai: Former union minister and Maharashtra's first Muslim chief minister A.R. Antulay died Tuesday following prolonged illness, his nephew said. He was 85.

Antulay breathed his last at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital where he had been admitted a few days ago.

He is survived by his wife Nargis, son Naved and daughters Neelam, Shabnam and Mubina, said nephew and son-in-law Mushtaque Antulay.

Known as 'Barrister Antulay', he was the state's first Muslim chief minister from June 1980-Jan 1982. He was appointed by late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

He served as a union minister in 1995 and later in the UPA-I government of former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

'As per traditions, we perform the funeral in our native place. We are likely to hold the funeral ceremonies Wednesday in his village of birth at Ambet, Raigad district,' Mushtaque Antulay told IANS.