2015, ജൂലൈ 10, വെള്ളിയാഴ്‌ച

Bosnian women tell tale of loss through objects of memory

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Bosnian women tell tale of loss through objects of memory



Pay revision commission recommends salary revision once in 10 years

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 Thiruvananthapuram: Along with raising the pay package and other benefits of state government employees on par with the Central government staff, the Kerala Pay Revision Commission has recommended pay revision once in 10 years.

In the report tabled on Assembly on Thursday, it also wanted constitution of Migration Development Bank for judiciously utilizing the NRI investment.

This is the fourth report presented by the panel chaired by Dr K Pushpangadan. Dr K V Joseph, Dr Mary George and Dr Nagarajan Naidu are other members.

This recommendation comes against the backdrop of the panel preparing to submit the pay revision report of government employees and teachers to government on Friday.

The panel warned that the pay revision in every five years creates acute finacial crisis. In the current situation, the salary is hiked immediately as the wages, pension as well as the arrears of previous revision are settled, it noted.

US Army to downsize, lay off 40,000 soldiers by 2018

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Washington: The US Army has announced that it will cut 40,000 soldiers by the end of 2018, shrinking its size from 490,000 to 450,000 due to budget constraints, an official statement said.

The statement issued by the US Department of Defense on Thursday said the reduction of force structure will occur in fiscal years 2016 and 2017. The end-strength reduction of 40,000 will be completed by the end of 2018, and will be accompanied by a reduction of 17,000 army civilian employees.

The army will convert the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Benning, Georgia, and the 25th Infantry Division's 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, into smaller units -- manoeuvre battalion task forces -- by the end of 2017.

The statement said the army would try to draw down the active force and strength gradually in order to 'minimise the turbulence we have with soldiers and their families'.

In 2012, the regular army of the US had a strength of about 570,000 soldiers. In 2013, the army announced a drawdown of 80,000, that brought the size of the Army to 490,000 soldiers at present.

Budget constraints are forcing the army's reduction, said Lt Gen Joseph Anderson, US army's deputy chief of staff for operations and plans, at a Pentagon press conference on Thursday.

'These were very difficult decisions to make as all of our installations and their communities offer tremendous value to our army and the nation,' he said.

'In the end, we had to make decisions based on a number of strategic factors, to include readiness impacts, mission command and cost.'

IANS

ISL auction: Mumbai City FC bag Chhetri for Rs.1.20 crore

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Mumbai: India national football team captain Sunil Chhetri was bagged by Mumbai City FC for a massive Rs.1.20 crore at the 2015 Indian Super League (ISL) players auction here on Friday.

Four-time All India Football Federation (AIFF) player of the year, Chhetri had the highest base price in the auction at Rs.80 lakh. The second edition of the ISL is scheduled to start on October 3.

The prolific forward has made 87 international appearances and scored 50 goals for India.

Chhetri plays for Bengaluru FC in the I-League and helped the club to the title in 2014, becoming the joint top scorer in the league that year. Chhetri didn't play in the the first edition of ISL after his club refused to release him for the tournament.

Speaking after being selected in ISL, Chhetri said: 'I am really excited to be a part of ISL this season.'

The auction of 10 footballers, which is ongoing here on Friday, has been divided into two phases, Pool A and Pool B, with five players in each group. Chhetri was the star action of Pool A of the auction.

Chhetri, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Anas Edathodika, Thoi Singh and Jackichand Singh comprise Pool A.

Midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who had a base price of Rs.27.5 lakh, was bought by FC Pune City for a whooping Rs.1.05 crore. In 62 I-League appearances, he has scored eight goals. The 28-year-old played also played for Bengaluru FC in the I-League last season.

Defender Anas Edathodika, 28, was bought by Delhi Dynamos for Rs.41 lakh. He featured for Pune FC in I-League last year. He has made 53 appearances for his club so far and has a base price of Rs.40 lakh.

Bengaluru FC's midfielder Thoi Singh, with a base price of Rs.39 lakh, was bought by Chennaiyin FC for Rs.86 lakh. The 24-year-old has scored eight goals in 37 I-League appearances.

I-League club Royal Wahingdoh's medio Jackichand Singh was lapped up by FC Pune City for Rs.45 lakh. The 23-year-old had a base price of Rs.20 lakh. The midfielder has five goals to his name in 18 I-league appearances.

IANS

Modi-Sharif talks: Mumbai terror trial to be expedited

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 Ufa (Russia): India and Pakistan on Friday agreed to expedite the trial of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, hold a meeting of their National Security Advisors and to cooperate with each other to eliminate terrorism after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif here.

Reading out a joint statement, the foreign secretaries of both countries, Pakistan's Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary and India's S. Jaishankar, said that the Modi-Sharif meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.

'The two leaders exchanged views of bilateral and regional interest.'

Chaudhary said the two leaders agreed that 'India and Pakistan have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development'.

'To do so they are prepared to discuss all outstanding issues.'

'Both leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate with each other to eliminate this menace from South Asia,' he said.

They also agreed on five steps, including a meeting in New Delhi between the two NSAs to discuss all issues connected to terrorism.

An early meeting of the DG of the Border Security Force of India and the DG of the Pakistani Rangers followed by meeting of the DGMOs (Director Generals of Military Operations).

A decision for release of fishermen in each other's custody along with their boats within 15 days mechanism for facilitating religious tourism and both sides agreed to discuss the ways and means to expedite the Mumbai case trial, including additional information like providing voice samples.

As many as 166 people, including foreigners, were killed in Mumbai in a terror attack on November 26, 2008. The attack was carried out by 10 terrorists from Pakistan.

Prime Minister Sharif invited Prime Minister Modi to visit Pakistan for the SAARC summit 2016, and Modi accepted the invitation, said Jaishankar.

Both the officials refused to take questions.

IANS

Pay Commission report on Monday

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 Thiruvananthapuram: The 10th pay commission headed by Justice C N Ramachandran Nair will submit its report to the government only on Monday.

Though it was earlier said that the report would be submitted on Friday, it was deferred after Finance Minister K M Mani leaving for Kochi following the death of Additional Advocate General P C Iype.

The pay commission has reportedly recommended a pay hike ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 7,500. Last time it was Rs 1,104 – Rs 4,490. The revised pay package will be implemented with retrospective effect from July, 2014.

The commission also proposes a 10-15 percent hike in pension while various allowances are increased from 10-50 percent.

With the dearness allowance of 80 percent is merged with the basic pay, it is expected that the staff would get a reasonable hike in salary. Also, a recommendation has been made to discontinue the special pay for employees in quasi-judiciary, PSC and technical sessions and also the personal staff of ministers.

2015, ജൂലൈ 2, വ്യാഴാഴ്‌ച

Indian Student Gets US Fellowship For LGBT Research in Tamil Nadu

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Washington: An Indian student has received an LGBT scholarship from California University to investigate how political tensions have led to the proliferation of new notions of sexual identity in Tamil Nadu.

'The movements taking place in Tamil Nadu right now draw on LGBT rights language, but they also draw on a lot of other histories,' says this year's winner Shakthi Nataraj, an anthropology PhD student at UC Berkeley.

She is one of the three recipients of the Philip Brett LGBT Studies Fellowship launched in 2009 to honour Philip Brett, a pioneer of lesbian and gay musicology, who taught at Berkeley from 1966 to 1991, Nataraj grew up in Chennai, and spent time around nonprofits that focused in HIV and gender issues because of the work her mother did, according to a university release.

As Nataraj grew older, she reconnected with the LGBT community in Chennai.

Gradually, gender and sexuality rights became her work, and pursuing a PhD in the field offers an alternate way to engage in it.

Attending Berkeley, she said, has allowed her to explore her interests and to meet a cross-section of students who have taught her about issues of gender, sexuality and race in the American context.

'It's the dual belonging to the worlds of academia and non-academia that is both the biggest challenge and the most rewarding part of this whole experience,' Nataraj said.

It is from this background that Nataraj approaches her LGBT research in Tamil Nadu, the release said.

As part of her research, she is examining how Indian courts struggle to reconcile notions of 'Indian culture' with transnational human rights commitments.

For example, in December 2013, India's Supreme Court upheld a colonial-era law criminalising homosexual intercourse and then, just months later, issued a judgment affirming transgender identity and rights.

Indian members of the LGBT communities, Nataraj said, are 'paradoxically hailed as both rights-bearing consumers and atavistic criminals.'

Bin Laden died natural death, claims ex-ISI chief

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Islamabad: Al Qaeda Chief Osama bin Laden died a 'natural death' in 2005 and not in the US Navy Seals raid in the Abbottabad mansion, claims former Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt. Gen. (retd) Hameed Gul.

'In my opinion Osama was not there (Abbottabad). He died a natural death in 2005,' Hameed Gul told Geo News programme 'Jirga' on Monday.

The former ISI chief added that the truth would come out about the May 2, 2011 Abbottabad raid.

The statement came fours years after the US reported that its Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in a raid on his compound in the garrison city of Abbottabad in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The US military said that after the killing, bin Laden's body was flown to Afghanistan for identification and then buried in the sea within 24 hours.

Earlier, American journalist Seymour Hersh had said that Pakistan helped Washington in locating Osama Bin Laden but the operation 'Neptune Spear' was conducted in a manner that cast doubts over Pakistan's intentions.

He revealed that Osama Bin Laden's secret hideout was exposed by an ex-intelligence official of Pakistan who was now living in Washington and worked for the CIA as a consultant.

IANS

Egypt: 17 soldiers, 100 militants killed in battle waged by IS

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 The Egyptian Army has been on a battleground for one day since a militant group affiliated to Islamic State launched simultaneous assualts on military checkpoints in North Sinai, killing 17 soldiers. The army also said on Wednesday that more than 100 IS fighters have been been killed in the deadliest fighting in years in the restive province.

After a day of fighting, which involved F-16 jets and Apache helicopters, the army said it would not stop its operations until it had cleared the area of all 'terrorist concentrations'.

By late Wednesday, an army spokesperson said the situation in North Sinai was '100% under control'. Security sources and witnesses later said aerial bombardments on militant targets had resumed.


Islamic State's Egyptian affiliate, Sinai Province, had claimed responsibility, saying it attacked more than 15 security sites and carried out three suicide bombings.

The militants' assault, a significant escalation in violence in the peninsula that lies between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal, was the second high-profile attack in Egypt this week. On Monday, a bomb killed the prosecutor-general in Cairo.

Also read: Islamic State attacks kill at least 70 in Egypt

It raised questions about the government's ability to contain an insurgency that has already killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers.

The insurgents want to topple the Cairo government and have stepped up their campaign since 2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi removed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood after mass protests against his rule.

Sisi, who regards the Brotherhood as a threat to national security, has since overseen a harsh crackdown on some Islamist groups.

An army statement said the fighting had been concentrated in the towns of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah and that the militants used car bombs and various weapons.
Of the 17 soldiers killed, four were officers, and 13 more soldiers were wounded, the statement said.

Some security sources put the death toll for army and police much higher.

The army spokesperson told state television that a number of militants had been arrested. He also posted pictures on his official Facebook page which he said showed the bodies of scores of militants. They were dressed in fatigues.

Security sources said the militants had planned to lay siege to the town of Sheikh Zuweid. 'But we have dealt with them and broke the siege,' one of the sources said.

Booby Traps at Sheikh Zuweid

Earlier, security sources said militants had surrounded a police station in Sheikh Zuweid and planted bombs around it.

The militants also planted bombs along a road between Sheikh Zuweid and al-Zuhour army camp and seized two armoured vehicles, weapons and ammunition, the sources said.

Suleiman al-Sayed, a 49-year-old Sheikh Zuweid resident told Reuters earlier on Wednesday that he was not allowed to leave his home while clashes were ongoing. He said he had a glimpse of 'five Land Cruisers with masked gunmen waving black flags'.

Witnesses and security sources also heard two explosions in the nearby town of Rafah, which borders Gaza. The sources said all roads leading to Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid were shut down. The interior ministry in the Gaza Strip, run by the Islamist Hamas group, reinforced its forces along the border with Egypt.

'It is a sharp reminder that despite the intensive counter-terrorism military campaign in the Sinai over the past six months, IS ranks are not decreasing -- if anything they are increasing in numbers as well as sophistication, training and daring,' Aimen Dean, a former al Qaeda insider who now runs a Gulf-based security consultancy, said in a note.

State of Emergency

Islamic State had urged its followers to escalate attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which started in mid-June, though it did not specify Egypt as a target. In April, the army extended by three months a state of emergency imposed in parts of Sinai.

Besides bombardments in the region, the army has destroyed tunnels into the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip and created a security buffer zone in northern Sinai. It is also digging a trench along the border with Gaza to deter smuggling.

Under the terms of Egypt's 1979 peace accord with Israel, the Sinai is largely demilitarised. But Israel has regularly agreed to Egypt bringing in reinforcements to tackle the Sinai insurgency, and one Israeli official signalled there could be further such deployments following Wednesday's attacks.

'This incident is a game-changer,' an official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Sisi's government does not distinguish between the now-outlawed Brotherhood, which says it is committed to peaceful activism, and other militants.

The courts have sentenced hundreds of alleged Brotherhood supporters to death in recent months. Morsi himself, and other senior Brotherhood figures, also face the death penalty.

The cabinet, which met in the Police Academy for security reasons on Wednesday, approved a draft anti-terrorism law, which it said would 'achieve quick and just deterrence'.

'Any terrorist or criminal attacks that aim to sow chaos ... will be confronted,' the cabinet said, citing the interior minister.

In Cairo, the interior ministry said security forces killed nine leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood in an apartment in a western suburb after the men opened fire on them.

The interior ministry said the group were holding a meeting to plot attacks. It said some of those killed had been convicted in court cases. The Brotherhood denied the group was armed and said in a statement that the killing was a turning point that could lead to repercussions by the 'oppressed'.

'The assassination ... will drive the situation down an extremely dangerous slope and toward a total explosion.'Reuters

5 Keralites killed in road mishap in Saudi

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Damam: Five Keralites were killed in a road mishap at Suhaib in Saudi Arabia when the vehicle in which they were travelling collided with a trailer from behind.

Te decesaed are Newman hailing from Vattapally in Alapuzha, Raveendran and Santhosh from Thiruvananthapuram, Sivakumar and Thulasi belonging to Kollam .

The accident occurred 40 kms from al'hazair. All the dead were workers of an AC company in Dubai. After their work hours, they wdre returning to Damam when the accident happened.

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