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Hamas leader
escapes assassination bid, five shot Pak offers Rs 6.5
cr for clue about ultras Thai translation
of Guru Granth Sahib completed India to surpass
China in population by Indians rescued
from sinking vessel |
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US cable TV to
get Bollywood flavour Three killed in
bus accidents in Nepal
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Hamas leader escapes assassination bid, five shot
Gaza, August 18 Hamas gunmen said a missile fired by an Israeli drone hit the residence of Ahmed al-Jabari, a top commander in the militant Islamic group’s armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades. Doctors said he suffered leg wounds. “In an Israeli security forces operation in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defence Forces targeted a senior Hamas terrorist,’’ the army said. The army, which killed Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin in March and his successor, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, a month later in air strikes, did not say how the latest attack was carried out. Residents said they saw no aircraft at the time of the blast. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to pull Israeli settlers and soldiers out of the Gaza Strip by the end of next year and Israeli forces and Palestinian militants have been bent on scoring “victory” in the run-up to the withdrawal. Medics said five people — Jabari’s son, a brother, a son-in-law, a cousin and one of Rantissi’s son-in-laws — were pronounced dead in hospital and 12 were wounded. At least three of the dead were known militants. “We heard a loud explosion and ran outside,’’ one neighbour said. “We saw (Jabari’s) house was completely on fire.’’ Jabari, in his 40s, spent 13 years in Israeli prisons before being released in 1995 under interim peace deals. Hamas, dedicated to Israel’s destruction, had carried out several suicide attacks during a nearly four-year-old Palestinian uprising. On the Israeli political front, Sharon, facing a mutiny in his right-wing Likud Party over his plan to “disengage’’ from the Palestinians in Gaza, approved 1,000 more Israeli settler homes in the West Bank in a move that drew a cautious US response.
— Reuters |
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Pak offers Rs 6.5 cr for clue about ultras Islamabad, August 18 The
government published the list of the six terrorists along with their photographs in local newspapers. Rewards of Rs two crore each have been announced for information about Jaish’s Amjad Hussain alias Amjad Farooqi, identified as the most clever operator by Musharraf and believed to be the mastermind of various attacks in Pakistan including two suicide bomb attacks on the President, and Libyan national Abu Faraj Al Libbi alias Dr Taufeeq. Rewards ranging from Rs one crore to Rs 50 lakh have been announced for the capture of Mati-ur-Rehman from Multan, Monsoor from Karachi, Qari Ehsan of Bahwalpur and Omar Aqdas from Sheikhapura district. A reward of Rs one crore has been announced for information about Mati-ur Rehman while Rs 50 lakh each has been offered for the other three. The photographs of all the six men were published prominently in the form of advertisements issued by the government in the local newspapers. “Above individuals are wanted for acts of terrorism. Government of Pakistan officers cash reward to person giving information leading to their arrest. Identification of the informer would be kept secret,” the advertisement
said. — PTI |
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Thai translation of Guru Granth Sahib completed Bangkok, August 18 Mr Rajbir Singh , Director (South-East Asia) of International Institute of Gurmat Studies (IIGS), said Bibi Jaspal Kaur had to coin many word-characters which were not prevalent in the Thai language. The first ‘hukmnama’ (order) would be recited from the Thai translation in the local Singh Sabha Gurdwara shortly to mark the 400th - anniversary celebrations of the installation of Guru Granth
Sahib, scheduled to be organised all over the world from September 1. Earlier, Bibi Jaspal Kaur had translated ‘Sukhmani Sahib’ and ‘Punj Banian’ (the five holy scriptures) into the Thai language. The Adi Guru Granth Sahib consists of approximately 3000 hymns of carefully- recorded authorship. Over 2400 hymns were composed by the Sikh Gurus who lived between 1469 and 1675 in Punjab. It makes Guru Granth Sahib a rich repository of dialects that were prevalent in the northern India during medieval times. Mr Rajbir Singh said Bibi Jaspal Kaur was being honoured by the SGPC for her contribution to Sikhism. The translated works of Bibi Jaspal Kaur had already been displayed in the Sikh museum at Darbar Sahib and other Sikh museums. There are more than 50,000 Sikhs living in various parts of Thailand. Though many Sikhs ,especially the old generation, know Gurmukhi yet the translation would help the new generation to understand the holy scripture . Earlier, a booklet on Sikhism in the Thai language, translated by Mr Mahinder Singh Champi of Bangkok, was released by Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti , Jathedar Akal Takht and Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta , an SGPC member, at a function held in ‘Sardar House’. The booklet was produced and distributed on the behalf of Mr Narotam Singh Narang. Mr Rajbir Singh said Bibi Jaspal Kaur was also honoured at a function held in the White House and other parts of the world for her contribution to Sikhism. |
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India to surpass China in population by 2050: report
Washington, August 18 From three of the world’s 10 most populous countries today — the USA, Russia and Japan — only the USA was expected to remain in the top 10 list with 420 million Americans in another 46 years from now, the figures released by the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau (PRB) today said. With an effective one-child policy, China will slide down to the number two slot with 1,437 million people. Developing countries in Africa and Asia will account for about 90 per cent of the increase in world population projected by 2050, while the populations of the most developed countries will decrease with the only exception of the USA, which will continue to grow largely due to immigration. But the populations of some countries will shrink. Based on a number of factors, including an analysis of birth and death rates, Bulgaria is expected to lose almost 40 per cent of its population while Japan may shrink to roughly 100 million people from 128 million in 2004. However, Britain is expected to grow faster than any other major European country. Overall, world population, which was growing by about 70 million people a year, would in all possibility reach 9.3 billion by mid-century from 6.3 billion today, the report said.
— UNI |
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Indians rescued
from sinking vessel
Dubai, August 18 After being informed of their status by passing Omani fishermen, the Omani Coast Guard rushed to their rescue in mid-sea, 12 nautical miles off Ras Ar Nuz, near Hasik in Salalah. The boat sank within a few hours after they were plucked to safety. The vessel, MSV Lok Kalyan, developed engine problems en route from Muqala in Yemen to Veraval in Gujarat. “Within hours, the engine burnt and we were all at sea,” Yusuf Zikhar, the 49-year-old captain of Lok Kalyan, told the Times of Oman yesterday evening. “After the engine burnt, we were on sail for some hours, but the tricky wind and slashing waves put us in a really difficult situation. Water was getting on board and things looked really desperate when a passing Omani fisherman’s boat saw us,” he said. The vessel had unloaded 100 tonnes worth of milk cartons to a port in Yemen and from there carried livestock, which they unloaded in Muqala. The Indian Social Club, Salalah, will be providing shelter to the members. Food and water would be jointly provided by three of the Salalah Social Club linguistic wings, namely the Gujarati, Malayalam and Andhra segments.
— PTI |
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US cable TV to get Bollywood flavour
Houston, August 18 The two entertainment companies have tied up with Comcast Corp and Time-Warner Cable to add Bollywood movies to their video-on-demand channels. The venture enables over six million digital cable subscribers of Comcast and Time-Warner direct access to “Bollywood-On-Demand/Video-on-Demand” (BOD-VOD). BOD-VOD will amalgamate an array of movies, series and music videos from India’s Bollywood community. 212 media was responsible for content and programming of the new service and Schramm would provide marketing and stratetgic distribution support, said president Joe Schramm. The New York based Schramm and 212 Media entered into an agreement to cash in on the rising demand for South Asian films. BOD, according to Warner Cable, is part of a diversity initiative. The company rolled out a Bollywood service from July in all 31 of its markets nationwide.
— PTI |
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Three killed in bus accidents in Nepal
Kathmandu, August 18 At least six persons were killed and 15 reported injured when a speeding bus veered off a highway and plunged into a river near Lalpur village, about 300 km south-east of the capital, Kathmandu. In a separate accident yesterday evening, an additional seven persons were killed and 24 reported injured when a bus driver lost control of the vehicle and it plunged into a river near Bhaludhunga, about 120 km west of Kathmandu. The bus was still submerged and rescuers were still searching the waters for bodies. |
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Pakistan today offered huge cash rewards totalling Rs 6.5 crore for information leading to the capture of six most-wanted terrorists linked to Al-Qaida, including a member of the banned Jash-e-Muhammad who is accused of masterminding two suicide attacks on President Pervez Musharraf last year.