Biggest quake in 20 years in North-East

The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale, that rocked the North-Eastern states on Sunday was the biggest in the region in 20 years, according to officials.
 
Records of the Central Seismological Observatory here showed increasing seismic activity in the region.  A total 34 quakes of light and moderate intensity were felt in the region in 2009. The area witnessed 26 earthquakes each in 2008 and 2007, while it was 23 in 2006, the data showed.

On February 4 this year, a quake of 6.4 magnitude with its epicentre in the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur shook the region. An earthquake of similar intensity (6.8) had rocked the northeast on August 6, 1988.          

Landslides hamper rescue efforts after Himalaya quake

Rain and landslides hampered the search for survivors of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 39 people in isolated Himalayan regions stretching across India, Nepal and Tibet, police and media said on Monday.

Thick cloud kept helicopters from flying over the affected areas and authorities say the number of casualties could rise as rescue teams have not been able to reach remote areas.

Eighteen casualties were confirmed in Sikkim, the epicentre of Sunday night's quake, with more deaths reported in neighbouring Nepal and Tibet.

"The situation doesn't look good." an official from a U.N. disaster management team in New Delhi told Reuters.

"My feeling is the death toll and number of injured is going to increase further."

Sikkim, the country's most sparsely populated state located in the Himalayas surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, is prone to landslides, with the number of high-rise buildings rising in its mountain towns due to India's economic boom.

At least two died in Bihar, south of Sikkim, while five died in West Bengal.

'STILL PANICKY'

"People are still panicky," Pawan Thapa, a resident of Sikkim's capital Gangtok, told Reuters by phone. "We spent the whole night outside our homes."

He added that shops, businesses and offices were closed in Gangtok and neighbouring areas.

"Even if the number of casualties is low, there is likely to be a huge need for humanitarian assistance for affected civilians whose homes have been destroyed and who need food and shelter. The U.N. is taking this very seriously," said the U.N. official, who declined to be identified.

Outside India, at least seven people died in neighbouring Nepal, three of them killed when a wall on the perimeter of the British embassy in Kathmandu collapsed onto a car and a motorcycle. Seven were also reported dead in China's restive Tibet region, China's state-run news agency Xinhua said.

Landslides and heavy rain were slowing the arrival by road of at least 400 rescue workers and doctors trying to reach the worst affected area after landing at the nearest airport almost 100 km away.

Army officers and border police stationed near the epicenter of the quake in Sikkim, which has a large military deployment near the Chinese border, and rescued at least 200 villagers.

Their patrols sent in radio reports of more casualties as they spread out on foot to isolated mountain villages.

"Eighteen people are confirmed dead, and 25 concrete bridges are damaged," said Ashok Chetry, emergency and fire services in Sikkim, told Reuters by phone.

Many towns in Sikkim experienced power cuts, while thousands are being sheltered by the government. At least 100 people were injured in Sikkim alone, while hundreds of tourists, mainly Indian, were stranded on the main road out of the state to West Bengal in the south.

The quake was felt all the way to New Delhi as well as to Bangladesh, shaking buildings.

Several earthquakes have hit north and east India this year, but none have caused major damage or injuries.

In 2001, a devastating earthquake in the western state of Gujarat killed at least 19,700 people and caused damage in neighbouring Pakistan.

Sex Trade Very Common in India

In India, sex trade very successful with help of police and politicians as all are corrupt and will not hesitate to sell their own daughters and wife's for money.

The video below will show how the trade works in India.

The government is doing nothing...no wonder the rapes of 3yr olds are very common in India.

Ganjam Presents For The First Time In India - 'Lucca Preziosa'- An Exclusive Exhibition of Research Jewellery

“Lucca Perziosa’09”- An exhibition of contemporary research jewellery is being introduced for the first time in India through a collaborative effort between Le Arti Orafe and Ganjam. The 2009 edition of the exhibition titled – ‘Cutting The Mirror’ will be held at the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre in Delhi from 2nd April to 12th April 2009.

Lucca Perziosa is an annual jewellery exhibition that showcases exemplary works of art in modern research jewellery. The exhibition, an initiative by Mr. Gio Carbone Director, Le Arti Orafe, a leading international jewellery institutes aims to create a cultural space for a significant annual comparative encounter in the field of Contemporary Jewellery Art.

Ganjam’s association with Lucca began in 2006 when it was invited to take part in the Lucca Preziosa exhibition titled - ‘Beyond Body Decorations,’, where Ganjam had the rare honor of displaying their prestigious Heritage Jewellery collection. This partnership ensued the entry of the globally renowned festival into India.

Mr. Umesh Ganjam, Director Ganjam goes on to explain, “Ganjam’s philosophy has always been one that upholds design and craftsmanship at the highest echelon, as we aim to create works of art that are exclusive and of the highest quality.”

Since the first edition, Lucca Preziosa has become a reference for the Italian and European research jewellery fraternity and offers an opportune platform to discuss contemporary trends in art jewellery. This exhibition witnesses a strong support from the Italian Embassy as hosts of the exhibition.

The official opening of Lucca Preziosa 2009 ‘Cutting the Mirror’ in India will take place on 2nd April 2009, at the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, New Delhi. This will be followed by a seminar at the same venue on 9th April by Maria Cristina Bergesio,

The collection is being exhibited at the Inhorgenta fair, Munchen (Germany) presently, the exhibition will culminate in Lucca, on 23rd of April until 17th of May 2009.

- End -

About Ganjam

Ganjam launched its first jewellery showroom in Bangalore in 1889. Over the last century, Ganjam has grown to become one of India’s premium jewellery brands. From the use of only ‘f’ coloured, VVS diamonds, choicest of handpicked precious stones and purest of metals to excellence in craftsmanship, Ganjam has retained exclusivity in every aspect. Over the last few years, Ganjam has done collaborative work with well-known Indian as well as international designers and continues to produce fine jewellery that is born in India and designed for the world. Ganjam has four stores in India, two in Bangalore, a boutique at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai and their exclusive boutique at the DLF Emporio in Delhi.

HP to use Shimla pact-related items to boost tourism

Shimla (PTI): In a bid to boost tourism in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government will showcase items related to signing of the historic 1972 India-Pakistan "Shimla agreement".

Articles showcasing the rich heritage of Shimla including legacies of the British Raj era, freedom struggle and the signing of Shimla agreement between India and Pakistan would be showcased in famous Gaiety Theatre, Director Language and Culture Prem Sharma said.

These pieces of history will be placed in a city museum in the Gaiety Theatre, expected to reopen after renovation in April end, he said.

A suitable sound and light show will also be developed for these items, he added.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in his proposed annual budget of the state for 2009-10 had said an attempt will be made to boost tourism in HP and make it a favoured destination of the people both within the country and abroad.

The table on which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Pakistani counterpart Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had signed Shimla agreement presently kept in the Rajbhawan here, will be on display.

Photographs of the two leaders and other articles related to those moments would also be open for the tourists, Sharma added.

Real estate prices in UAE fall 25 pct

DUBAI - Property prices in Abu Dhabi, which have shed as much as 25 percent from their highs in the third quarter after credit became scarce and speculators withdrew, may further decline, Landmark Advisory said in a report.


"We’re in a state of transactional gridlock," a unit of the United Arab Emirate-based real-estate broker said in an e- mailed statement Saturday. "Ambitious master developments have dropped 15 percent to 25 percent since peaking in the third-quarter of 2008" in terms of average prices, it added.

Dubai opened its property market to foreign investors in 2002 followed by Abu Dhabi three years later, fueling a boom bolstered by low interest rates. In the last three months, banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Lloyds TSB Group Plc have clamped down on mortgages as the global recession began to hurt the region, forcing companies to cut jobs and scale back projects, or even shelve them.

For properties being delivered later than 2011 in Abu Dhabi, prices may retreat as much as 10 percent below the original rates by the second quarter of this year, according to Landmark.

"Investors and speculators saw Abu Dhabi as the next big thing after Dubai, but by then the financial crisis had already hit the U.A.E.," said Jesse Downs, head of research at Landmark Advisory. "Developers are now facing the prospect of renegotiating payments to prevent defaults and preserving enough cash flow to continue construction."

Construction projects totaling $75 billion have been either delayed or canceled in the U.A.E., HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd. said in a note on Jan. 22. The majority of projects affected are high-end residential and commercial developments. Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties PJSC’s Raha Beach development was most affected by the fall in real-estate prices, Morgan Stanley said in a note to investors this month.

Abu Dhabi’s rental market has also leveled out in the fourth quarter after average villa rents rose 35 percent and apartment rentals soared 80 percent between the last three months of 2007 and 2008, the Landmark report said.

Pakistan: failed nation or terrorist state

The common opinion emerging on Pakistan’s role in aiding and abetting terrorists clearly suggests that the country should be officially declared as a terrorist state. The US operation in Abbottabad leading to the elimination of Osama Bin Laden, the world’s most wanted criminal has proved beyond any doubt that the head of al Qaeda could not have lived in Pakistan without the knowledge and help of the authorities. Noted author Salman Rushdie has already asked for Pakistan’s expulsion from the comity of Nations and western powers are not prepared to go by the official explanation that the government or its agencies were oblivious of Osama’s presence on their soil.

It needs little common sense to infer that the safe House or the Mansion where Osama lived did not come out of thin air but was built in the Garrison town with full knowledge of the military authorities that are in actual control of the government there. The civilian administration is just a mere front since sham democracy prevails in Pakistan.

Therefore the onus of trying to come clean lies with the Army and its intelligence wing, the Inter State Intelligence but the evidence and circumstances are not going to make matters any better for the whole Nation. We in India know that Pakistan has been the epicenter of terrorism for long beginning from the attack of the tribals on Kashmir in the late forties. The country’s complicity was established beyond any doubt going by the assistance received by Sikh ultras and now Kashmiri militants from across the border. Repeated attacks by Lashkar militants on India have exposed the demonic side of the government which has not been able to reconcile itself from its second partition during the Bangla Desh war and 1971 operations conducted under the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi.

We have all been very familiar with the ways and style of the Pakistanis but it is the Americans who never believed in New Delhi’s view about Islamabad. But since they have tasted it directly now, the US perception could undergo a change subsequently.

While Pakistan has a lot of answering to do about Osama’s presence in Abbottabad, the United States too should lay to rest speculation about Osama’s death by releasing photographs of his body. There are more than a number of people who believe that Osama is not dead but was captured alive and taken to the United States. At least they will stop talking in this manner if the photographic evidence is presented. There are other conspiracy theories also doing the rounds and they should not be allowed to gain credence if the Americans share some more details about the operation.

There are some who doubt that Osama was buried at sea with Islamic rites and wonder how could a Muslim holy man be produced aboard a US naval ship in such a short time frame. There are others who doubt that the capturing or killing of Osama took place much earlier and the final day shooting was just to create deception. Some wonder how the Pakistani military did not get wind of Helicopters intruding into their air space and why Air Force Planes did not hover in the sky while the operation was reportedly in progress.
There is no doubt in my mind that Osama and people like him should be tracked down and eliminated but the security forces must share evidence of their death with the world.

The second question that needs to be addressed is that some sections are attempting to make Osama a cult figure and are planning to have prayers for him in several mosques. Prayers should be for the Holy and not the Diabolic. Indian leaders should also refrain from trying to draw political capital from what happened in Abbottabad. Pakistan must realize that it is going in the wrong direction and if it has to survive as part of the world, which goes by the rule of law, it has to give up its undesirable activities. It is a failed Nation, which needs to pass the test to be regarded as part of the global fight against terrorism. To me it seems that the days of both Asif Zardari as the President and Ashfaq Kiyani as the Army chief are numbered.

An interesting sidelight to the entire incident is that my friend, noted astrologer Bharat Upmanyu in an email dated September 21, 2010 to President Obama had stated that Osama Bin Laden was in Muzaffarbad or in the vicinity of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Abbottabad is merely 30 kilometres as the crow flies from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir territory. I think it was remarkable accuracy and speaks volumes about Bharat’s ability to predict.

His foretelling could make him amongst many claimants of the prize money on Osama’s head.

Pakistan: A Terrorist State

This time, the facts on the ground speak too loudly to be hushed up.

Supporters of the pro-Taliban party shout anti-US slogans at a protest in Quetta on May 2, 2011, after the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

 Osama bin Laden died the day after Walpurgisnacht, the night of black Sabbaths and bonfires. Not an inappropriate time for the Chief Witch to fall off his broomstick and perish in a fierce firefight. One of the most common status updates on Facebook after the news broke was “Ding, dong, the witch is dead,” and that spirit of Munchkin celebration was apparent in the faces of the crowds chanting “U-S-A!” on the night of May 1 outside the White House and at Ground Zero and elsewhere. Almost a decade after the horror of 9/11, the long manhunt had found its quarry, and Americans will be feeling less helpless now, and pleased at the message that his death sends: “Attack us and we will hunt you down, and you will not escape.”

Many of us didn’t believe in the image of bin Laden as a wandering Old Man of the Mountains, living on plants and insects in an inhospitable cave somewhere on the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border. An extremely big man, 6 feet 4 inches tall in a country where the average male height is about 5 feet 8, wandering around unnoticed for 10 years while half the satellites above the earth were looking for him? It didn’t make sense. Bin Laden was born filthy rich and died in a rich man’s house, which he had painstakingly built to the highest specifications. The U.S. administration confesses it was “shocked” by the elaborate nature of the compound.

We had heard—I certainly had, from more than one Pakistani journalist—that Mullah Mohammed Omar was (is) being protected in a safe house run by the powerful and feared Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate somewhere in the vicinity of the city of Quetta in Baluchistan, and it seemed likely that bin Laden, too, would acquire a home of his own.

In the aftermath of the raid on Abbottabad, all the big questions need to be answered by Pakistan. The old flimflam (“Who, us? We knew nothing!”) just isn’t going to wash, must not be allowed to wash by countries such as the United States that have persisted in treating Pakistan as an ally even though they have long known about the Pakistani double game—its support, for example, for the Haqqani network that has killed hundreds of Americans in Afghanistan.

This time the facts speak too loudly to be hushed up. Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, was found living at the end of a dirt road 800 yards from the Abbottabad military academy, Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point or Sandhurst, in a military cantonment where soldiers are on every street corner, just about 80 miles from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. This extremely large house had neither a telephone nor an Internet connection. And in spite of this we are supposed to believe that Pakistan didn’t know he was there and that Pakistani intelligence and/or military and/or civilian authorities did nothing to facilitate his presence in Abbottabad while he ran Al Qaeda, with couriers coming and going, for five years?

Pakistan’s neighbor India, badly wounded by the Nov. 26, 2008, terrorist attacks on Mumbai, is already demanding answers. As far as the anti-Indian jihadist groups are concerned—Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad—Pakistan’s support for such groups, its willingness to provide them with safe havens, its encouragement of such groups as a means of waging a proxy war in Kashmir and, of course, in Mumbai, is established beyond all argument. In recent years these groups have been reaching out to the so-called Pakistani Taliban to form new networks of violence, and it is worth noting that the first threats of retaliation for bin Laden’s death were made by the Pakistani Taliban, not by any Qaeda spokesman.

India, as always Pakistan’s unhealthy obsession, is the reason for the double game. Pakistan is alarmed by the rising Indian influence in Afghanistan, and fears that an Afghanistan cleansed of the Taliban would be an Indian client state, thus sandwiching Pakistan between two hostile countries. The paranoia of Pakistan about India’s supposed dark machinations should never be underestimated.

For a long time now, America has been tolerating the Pakistani double game in the knowledge that it needs Pakistani support in its Afghan enterprise, and in the hope that Pakistan’s leaders will understand that they are miscalculating badly, that the jihadists want their jobs. Pakistan, with its nuclear weapons, is a far greater prize than poor Afghanistan, and the generals and spymasters who are playing Al Qaeda’s game today may, if the worst were to happen, become the extremists’ victims tomorrow.

There is not very much evidence that the Pakistani power elite is likely to come to its senses any time soon. Osama bin Laden’s compound provides further proof of Pakistan’s dangerous folly.

As the world braces for the terrorists’ response to the death of their leader, it should also demand that Pakistan give satisfactory answers to the very tough questions it must now be asked. If it does not provide those answers, perhaps the time has come to declare it a terrorist state and expel it from the comity of nations.