Hurriyat leaders released after house arrest

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Srinagar: Senior Kashmiri separatist leaders were On Thursday placed under house arrest here ahead of their scheduled meeting with Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz in New Delhi. They were released within an hour.

Separatist leaders were placed under house arrest in Srinagar to maintain law and order, a senior police officer told IANS.

Hurriyat's moderate faction chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was placed under house arrest in the morning in his Nigeen residence.

'A posse of police arrived at Mirwaiz's residence and placed him under arrest today (Thursday) morning. Another senior leader of the conglomerate, Moulana Abbas Ansari, too was put under house arrest. Houses of senior Hurriyat leaders Javaid Ahmad Mir and my residence were raided by police early morning,' Shahid-ul-Islam, secretary of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, told IANS.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting with Aziz ahead of the India-Pakistan NSA-level talks scheduled on August 23.

Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani was put under detention in his uptown Hyderpora residence in the city.

'I am ill. I have a bad chest and have been under house arrest since April 17 this year,' Geelani told IANS over the phone.

He said his political movement has been curtailed by the state authorities.

Pro-Independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik said he was arrested by police from his Maisuma residence in Srinagar and taken to Kothibagh police station.

29 UP cops named in 23 rape cases in 14 months: Akhilesh Yadav

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Lucknow: As many as 29 Uttar Pradesh Police personnel were named in 23 cases of rape registered in the state in the 14 months beginning January 1 last year, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav told the assembly.

Yadav's written reply came in response to a question of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Shyamdev Rai Chowdhary.

The chief minister, who also holds charge of the home portfolio, said that between January 1, 2014, and February 28, 2015, as many as 23 cases of rape involving policemen, both inside police stations and elsewhere, were registered.

Of the 29 policemen named, only 11 were arrested. Two accused policemen surrendered in courts while the names of eight were left out from primary FIRs after probes.

Investigations in other cases were on, the chief minister said in his reply given on Tuesday.

The chief minister said charge sheets were filed in courts in 15 of the 23 cases and final reports submitted in the absence of tangible proofs in seven other cases.

Action under Police Service (Conduct) Rules was taken against three policemen by the department and, of these, two police constables from Aligarh were dismissed from service, he said.

Adverse entries in the service records of two police personnel were made while action was underway against the others, sources said.

Reacting to the reply, the BJP said the statistics were 'both alarming and telling'.

'Just imagine the extent of lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh. If this is what police are doing, I shudder even to talk about criminal and other elements on the loose in the state,' state BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.

Even moderate drinkers are at high cancer risk

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New York : Even light to moderate drinking - up to one a day for women and up to two a day for men - may increase your risk of contracting cancer, especially if you are a smoker, says a new study.

In women, just a drink a day can increase risk of alcohol-related cancer, mainly breast cancer.

Risk of alcohol related cancers is also higher among light and moderate drinking men, but only in those who have ever smoked, the findings showed.

No association was found in men who had never smoked.

'However, for women who have never smoked, risk of alcohol related cancers (mainly breast cancer) increases even within the range of up to one alcoholic drink a day,' the study said.

Heavy alcohol consumption has been linked to increased risk of several cancers. However, the association between light to moderate drinking and overall cancer risk is less clear.

So a team of US researchers based at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, set out to determine whether light to moderate drinking is associated with an increased risk of cancer.

They used data from two large US studies that tracked the health of 88,084 women and 47,881 men for up to 30 years.

During the follow-up period, a total of 19,269 and 7,571 cancers were diagnosed in women and men, respectively.

This large study sheds further light on the relationship between light to moderate drinking and cancer, Jurgen Rehm from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada said in a commentary in the British Medical Journal where the study was published.

Onion prices soar, MMTC to import 10,000 tonnes

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New Delhi: In a bid to control onion prices, the central government on Wednesday decided that the MMTC will import 10,000 tonnes of onion.

'In order to contain rise in prices of onion and ensure its increased availability, the government has decided that (state-run trading company) MMTC will float a global tender for import of 10,000 tonnes of onion shortly,' the agriculture ministry said.

Onion prices are on the rise due to mismatch in supply and demand.

In the national capital, the retail prices of onion have risen to Rs.60 per kg. A similar trend prevails in other parts of the country.

The prices are rising due to the fall in production and sluggish supply of stored onions, meant for meeting the demand during the lean period of July-September, the ministry said in a statement.

Total onion production is estimated to be less than 189 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June), down from 194 lakh tonnes last year.

Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are the top three onion producing states.

Student launches hunger stir seeking basic facilities in school

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Tirur: A student of Government Higher Secondary School, Ponmundam, has launched a hunger strike demanding basic facilities in his school. He was shifted to the hospital by police, where he continued the protest.

Plus One Science student Shahal, son of Kundil Shukkoor, began the strike on the school premiseson Mondaymorning. The higher secondary section of the school lacks facilities such as toilet and laboratory; there is also shortage of teachers. The teachers are paid after collecting money from students.

The matters turned worse when science group was allotted to the school this year. Shahal launched the protest demanding a solution to all these problems.

As his condition became worse byTuesdayevening, Child Welfare Committee members requested the police to shift him to hospital.

Kerala HC stays teachers' package

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Kochi: The Kerala HC has stayed the teachers' package announced by the state government citing discrepancies and lack of clarity.

The court said that the package does not abide to the guidelines put forth by the Union education Ministry. The package insists on the teacher student ratio to be 1:45 while as per the guidelines it should be 1:35, ruled the HC.

Two schools have filed an appeal challenging the provisions of the package announced by the state government on August 6, 2015.

Conditions laid for exemptions on land for commercial purposes

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Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said certain conditions have been laid for exemptions on land allocated for commercial purposes.

As per the conditions, to claim exemption for an acre of land, the commericail enterprises have to ensure an investment of Rs 10 crore and creation of minimum of 20 job opportunities, he said while explaining the decisions taken at cabinet meeting.

'The conditions will be applicable for sectors such as IT, health, education, industry and tourism. The allocated land cannot be kept unutilized. The government cannot allow its misuse too,' he said.

Brazilians rage against president, corruption

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Rousseff’s Workers’ Party has been badly hit by the scandal and she has been tainted by association

Image Credit: AP

Demonstrators hold a sign that reads in Portuguese "Dilma out" during a protest demanding the impeachment of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015. Demonstrations are taking place across Brazil against President Rousseff, whose popularity has never been lower as she faces a sputtering economy and a massive corruption scandal.

Sao Paulo: Hundreds of thousands of protesters demanded Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s resignation on Sunday, blaming her and the leftist Workers’ Party for runaway corruption and looming recession in Latin America’s biggest country.

Crowds singing the national anthem and chanting “Dilma out!” paraded through the capital Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, the country’s largest city Sao Paulo and elsewhere across Brazil.

With some counts still incomplete, the G1 news site reported the latest police estimate for turnout to be 866,000 in dozens of cities and towns.

Organisers claimed a total of 1.9 million, including a million in Sao Paulo, where police counted only 350,000.

It was the third major anti-Rousseff protest this year, with 600,000 demonstrators taking to the streets in April and at least one million in March.

Less than a year into her second term, Rousseff is all but a lame duck, with the opposition considering controversial impeachment proceedings, and the country’s elite caught in a vast embezzlement scandal centred on state-oil company Petrobras.

“We can’t take this corruption any longer,” said Rogerio Chequer, leader of the Vem Pra Rua (Go on the Streets) group, which helped organise the protests.

“If Congress has even a minimum of sense, it will decide on impeachment,” he said at the Sao Paulo march, where many in the crowd wore the national football team’s famous yellow shirt.

Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla, has likened impeachment threats to a coup plot and insists she will not be forced from office.

Late on Sunday, her spokesman Edinho Silva said “the government sees these demonstrations as part of normal democracy.”

These are dark days for Brazil, which hosts the Summer Olympics in Rio next year.

The world’s seventh-largest economy is sliding into recession, its credit rating reduced to near junk status.

Austerity measures have replaced the economic go-go years fuelled by Chinese demand for commodities, while the ever-expanding Petrobras bribes and embezzlement probe is fuelling a deep political crisis.

Prosecutors have brought charges against a who’s who of Brazilian movers and shakers, including the billionaire head of the global construction company Odebrecht and a navy admiral once tasked with overseeing a secret nuclear programme.

Rousseff’s Workers’ Party has been badly hit by the scandal and she has been tainted by association, even if not directly implicated.

Her party’s treasurer was among those arrested in April.

The boisterous but peaceful crowds in towns and cities across the country pinned the blame on Rousseff, illustrating how Brazil’s “Iron Lady” has become the least popular president in modern times, with single-digit ratings.

In Rio, there was a carnival-like mood. Samba music blasted, some protesters carried surfboards, others rode skateboards and many wore bikinis or bathing suits.

But protesters said their opposition to Rousseff and the Workers’ Party is serious.

“They’re looting Brazil, stealing everything,” said Jorge Portugal, 63, who is retired from a job in marketing.

In Brasilia, retired engineer Elino Alves de Moraes, 77, called for Rousseff and her “gang” to be jailed.

At a rally in Belo Horizonte, the man who narrowly lost to Rousseff in her deeply divisive 2014 reelection, Aecio Neves, said the protests show that “Brazil has woken up.”

But one of the most popular heroes for the opposition masses was not Neves or even a politician — it was Sergio Moro, the 43-year-old judge handling the Petrobras cases.

“We are all Moro,” placards read, and “Power to Sergio Moro!”

“Judge Moro is the country’s salvation,” said one Sao Paulo protester, Jose Freitas, 88.

Rousseff is struggling to stay afloat. The question is whether opponents dare drag her all the way down.

A key figure in her fragile governing coalition, House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, defected in July and is considering whether to pull the trigger on impeachment proceedings.

Analysts say Cunha — under investigation for allegedly demanding a $5 million (Dh18.3 million) bribe — is waiting to be sure that Congress would follow his lead, while Rousseff is racing to negotiate a truce.

One possible relief for her came earlier this week when she and Senate President Renan Calheiros — under investigation in the Petrobras affair — agreed to market-pleasing reforms.

The deal took Rousseff ever further from her socialist roots, but could help lure her right-wing opponents from the cliff edge.

“The middle classes want to kick her out of power in any way, but to what end?” asked Andre Perfeito, head economist at Gradual Investimentos.

“In business circles and the elite, there’s an idea that it would be even worse if she left. It doesn’t mean they’re for Rousseff, but that getting rid of her would be even riskier.”

Human trafficking rates reach new low in 2014

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UAE aims to become safest for victims of human trafficking, Interior Ministry says

Abu Dhabi: Human trafficking crime rates reached a new low in 2014 across the UAE, as compared to the past three years, the Ministry of Interior announced today.

Field efforts in combating crime, offering protection for victims and witnesses of human trafficking and stringent laws, policies and procedures in tracking down and capturing offenders are some of the ministry’s Human Rights Department’s biggest responsibilities.

Additionally, the ministry has set up a 2014-2016 plan to make the UAE one of the best countries worldwide in providing safety and protection for victims of human trafficking.

Brigadier Ahmad Mohammad Nakhira, Director of the Human Rights Department and Head of the Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, said that campaigns have also played a major role towards this achievement and so have international agreements, training sessions, workshops and a higher level of awareness among the public.

In fact, the ministry’s Human Rights Department has signed 33 agreements, 12 Memorandums of Understanding with other countries and 20 projects on human rights with a focus on human trafficking.

Meanwhile, Colonel Mohammad Ali Al Shehi, Deputy Head of the Human Rights Department, stated that an eight-part reference model on trafficking has been launched.

The guide comprises information on human trafficking, specifically about UAE laws and legislations, mechanisms used in fighting and combating human trafficking, preventive measures that can be taken, catching criminals, victim protection and support, international cooperation, building local capabilities and other supplements.

Brig Nakhira highlighted the fact that the UAE considers human trafficking the most dangerous of organised crimes which can threaten the safety and stability of a country’s society. It is also the ugliest practice against humanity due to the physical, mental and emotional disabilities it can leave victims with, the official added.

In 2012, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, United National Special Rapporteur on trafficking, praised the UAE’s efforts in fighting this phenomenon during a visit to the country.

UAE Vice-President meets Indian Prime Minister

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Mohammad Bin Rashid reiterates the deep-rooted historical relations that bind the UAE and India

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  His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler ofImage Credit: WAM

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  His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler ofImage Credit: WAM

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 Shaikh Mohammad reiterated the deep-rooted historical relations that bind the UAE and India.

The two leaders explored ways to strengthen the friendship and cooperation on strategic grounds that ensure the interests of both countries and people.

Modi expressed his confidence in the leadership of the UAE-the friendly country, which is home to the largest Indian community that enjoy care and respect and preservation of the rights and freedom of belief.

He stressed his country’s desire in attracting Emirati investments, especially in the marine and air transport, information technology and space science.

Modi invited Shaikh Mohammad to visit India, which he accepted.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai , were present.

The meeting was also attended by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs,  and other Shaikhs and senior officials.