India shortlists Europeans, rejects U.S. for $11 bln jet order

This file photo combination shows a Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft (top) and a Dassault military jet Rafale (bottom).

 
India has rejected U.S. firms for an $11 billion fighter jet contract, shortlisting European firms instead, in a move that could sour its relationship with the United States while broadening its strategic ties with other regions.

The rejection comes despite lobbying from President Barack Obama during a high-profile visit to India five months ago, and coincides with the unexpected resignation of the U.S. ambassador to India, who cited "personal, professional, and family considerations" in a statement on Thursday.

Lockheed Martin's F-16 and Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet did not meet the Indian Air Force's technical requirements, a defence ministry source told Reuters.
"The Americans will be very unhappy and people who have been backing the contract will say India has not sufficiently taken into account the political relationship with the U.S.," said Kanwal Sibal, a former Indian foreign secretary. "That is a political setback for relations."

Relations between the two democracies have been on the rise after the end of the Cold war, when India was seen as closer to the Soviet Union.

In his three-day trip -- the longest stay in any foreign country by Obama -- the U.S. leader also announced $10 billion in business deals.
But suspicions remain. India has strived to broad-base its diplomatic relationships, working along with China, Russia and other emerging powers to avoid being perceived as part of the U.S. camp.
India has also been unwilling to commit to greater defence ties, including joint military exercises and patrols.
 

 India also ruled out Sweden's Saab JAS-39 and Russia's MiG-35, departing from a long-running tradition of relying mainly on Russian aircraft for its Air Force.

A REAL Ninja Warrior who looks after a British town

A masked man, dressed as a ninja warrior, patrols the streets of a British town and the local residents are quite happy about it.

The 25-year-old has pledged to keep his identity secret as he helps out on the streets of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

"It is my aim to help people."

"I am inspired by Neighbourhood Watch, which people seem to have forgotten about. So I've created Ninja Watch. The message I want to get across is about people sticking together and reporting incidents," The Sun quoted him as saying.

His pictures on internet show him returning a lost cat and there are tales of his helping old people cross the road.

Sally Everson, a local, said: "It was very odd, but the ladies were happy."

"Then I saw him stand outside a shop where undesirables hang out and they moved on quite quickly."

France to ban Muslim street prayers

Gueant said that he plans to make praying in the streets for Muslims illegal, although all public prayers in France receive government approval beforehand.

"Here we have the hypocrisy of the French right. On one side, they authorize in the street and on the other side, they say 'look French people, Muslims are taking over our streets and speak of invasion'," French lawmaker Axel Urgin told.

Even though France has the greatest Muslim population in Europe, Paris has only one mosque. This lack of mosques leaves French Muslims no choice but to attend Friday prayers at about a dozen street locations across France.

"If we are praying in the street, it's because we have no other choice. We are using what we have, and that is the street," the president of Muslim Association of Openness, Moussa Niambele said.

French politicians use the country's 1905 secularism law as reasoning why taxpaying Muslims cannot be financially assisted by the government to build mosques. Right-wing mayors also allegedly refuse issuing construction permits to those who have the money.

Although another large mosque is currently under construction in the French capital of Paris, many say it will not be sufficient.

Casio considered 'sign of al-Qaida'

Guantánamo Bay interrogators regarded the Casio F-91W wristwatch as a sign of al-Qaida involvement.

According to The Guardian, documents leaked by the whistle blowing web site WikiLeaks, reveal that the interrogators saw it as cheap, basic and widely available around the world.

Analysts stationed at Guantánamo Bay saw the Casio F-91W digital watch as a contributing factor to the continued detention of prisoners.

Briefing documents used to train staff in assessing the threat level of new detainees advise that possession of the F-91W – available online for as little as four pounds – suggests the wearer has been trained in bomb making by al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

More than 50 detainee reports refer to the Casio timepieces. The records of 32 detainees refer to the black Casio F-91W, while a further 20 make reference to the silver version, the A-159W.

114-yr-old casts vote 21st time

Of the 21 lakh-odd voter population, 114-year-old Karuppathal Rangan of Kanuvaipalayam village, in Marudur panchayat, under Karamadai union, (Mettupalayam constituency) is the eldest voter in Coimbatore district, who has seen at least 20 elections.

She was spotted by Deccan Chronicle at Karamadai panchayat union elementary school booth at Kanuvaipalayam village when she was walking slowly to cast her vote. All smiles, she posed for a photograph flashing her voter ID. Collector P. Umanath honoured her with a shawl for being the oldest voter in the district, a couple months ago.

In a trembling voice, she said, “To my memory, I have seen nearly 20 elections. Elections come and go, but nothing much has happened except for some welfare schemes.”

“In this old age, I am unable to get even government pension. My husband was a Congress sympathiser and I followed him till he was alive. I live in a hut on my farmland. Some of my neighbours constructed houses under the Kalaignar housing scheme. But I could not avail of it,” she said sadly.

However, the villagers offer her food. Using a stick, she walks to the shade of a banyan tree where she seeks alms from morning till evening. When asked which party she voted for, she retorted, “Athu sollakoodathu,” (can’t be told) which surprised even her fellow villagers.

Kanuvai-palayam DMK secretary T. Chinnasamy said till date nobody knows which party she votes for.

Super jumbo jet clips another plane at JFK airport

An Air France Airbus A-380's wing clipped the tail of another jet while it was taxiing out to depart New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters says there were no injuries in the mishap which happened just after 8 p.m. Monday.

Peters says Air France Flight 7 bound for Paris was taxiing on runway A when its left wingtip struck the tail of Comair Flight 629CRJ7, which had just landed from Boston and was taxiing to the gate.

He says both jets will be towed back to the ramp area for inspection. The extent of the damage was not immediately known.

The Airbus A-380 is the biggest commercial passenger jet in the world. Comair operates regional flights for Delta.

An iPad For Every Kindergartner?

Does your 4-5 year old need an iPad?

School officials in Maine certainly think so, where the Auburn Schools Committee voted unanimously to provide all kindergartners with a brand new iPad 2 next year -- with the process repeated for each new incoming class.

It's a move that will ultimately cost the school system about $200,000 next year, including Apple's $25 discount from the designer tablet's regular retail price. While the thought of a bunch of grubby kindergartners running around with $500 equipment may seem ridiculous, school superintendent Tom Morrill is a staunch believer in what he considers "a game changer."

"This is truly redefining how we're going to teach and learn," said Morrill, speaking to the school committee. "We're talking about a new tool, the iPad 2. You begin to watch how young people jump on, jump in and figure this out. It has great potential for leveling the playing field for all students."

Steve Jobs has long touted the educational potential of his latest shiny toy. But for local parent Nicole Fortin, the whole thing is just too much, especially when the district is looking for a 5 percent budget increase.

"It's crazy," Fortin told Maine newspaper The Sun Journal. "I look at all of the budgetary restraints we have. Our school system loses money every year to certain things. This is a lot to put in the hands of a 5-year-old."

Morrill hopes to find the money in the school budget and from grants from now through June, when he retires.

Guide TV - An Islamic Perpective in North America

I understand that this is not a religious forum but the recent happenings in the Arabian peninsula and North Africa got me thinking in a different direction all together!

And of all things that could happen, this week I had the privilege of meeting perhaps two of among the many new stars of Islamic Faith : Yusuf Estes and Yusha Evans (Joshua Evans). What struck me was that both were reverts to this faith and  are infact successfully reverting thousands to Islam since the last two decades.

Evans tells me of their new project that started earlier this year, namely, GuideUS TV. He says it is the first TV station in North America to present the truth about Muslims, what they really believe in, what they really do and why do they do what they do!

Estes adds that the foundation for this was build three years ago. Along with help and support of other modern day Islamic scholars like Zakir Naik (Peace TV),  Muhammed Salah (Huda TV), Mutahhir Saleh and Baba Ali among other, he proudly says : "It is a tremendous success for the Muslims! Now we, the American Muslims have our own TV channel - and its FREE!"

On asked what was the purpose of the this initiative is, Evans says, " The mission is to present the truth and the facts about America's fastest growing and most misunderstood religion - ISLAM in simple English."

So how or where does one view this channel?

They said it is available on Satellite Dish on Channel 99,  Galaxy 19, Galaxy 25, Telstar 5, World TV channel 99, and LIVE on the internet on guideus.tv

Below is video clip from a disc that Evans presented me before we separated to our different ways of life (the source is from another channel on youtube as I couldn't upload the whole thing here):

Are Mega Earthquakes on the Rise?

The devastating 2004 Indonesian tsunami, with its death toll of as many as 250,000 people, was caused by the first magnitude-9.0 earthquake since 1967. A succession of smaller but still destructive tremors in Haiti, Chile, and New Zealand — surpassed by this year's magnitude-9.0 quake in Japan — has some researchers wondering whether the number of large earthquakes is on the rise.

Giant earthquakes live up to their fearsome name. The biggest ever recorded was the magnitude-9.5 Chile earthquake of 1960. It accounts for about a quarter of the total seismic strain released worldwide since 1900.

The Indonesian quake "reinvigorated interest in these giants," said Aster, who is also president of the Seismological Society of America. The Chile and Japan earthquakes — along with a magnitude-9.2 quake in Alaska in 1964 — also triggered catastrophic tsunamis.

After a lull in large quakes in the 1980s and 1990s, we may now be in the middle of a new age of large earthquakes, Aster added.

Records from the past century reveal some periods that have seen an unusual number of giant earthquakes, defined as those with magnitude 8.0 or higher. For example, global seismic data show a dramatic spike in the rate of large earthquakes from 1950-67. But there have also been quiet periods with fewer large quakes. And with only 100 years worth of records to consult, researchers aren't sure what these patterns of large quakes might mean -- or whether they mean anything at all.

Aster acknowledged that the rarity of large earthquakes means that questions about possible connections between them are difficult to answer. "We see magnitude-7 earthquakes only 15 or so times a year and magnitude-9 earthquakes only a few times a century," he said.

Michael said that until researchers know more about why the rate of large earthquakes varies over time "we shouldn't be worrying less, but there's no need for panic either."

The recent spate of giant earthquakes may not signal more to come, but Aster said that "it's undeniable that we're becoming more and more vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes in general."

Aster added that many rapidly growing cities around the world aren't prepared for a large quake, while at the same time coastal communities are expanding into tsunami-prone areas. "We just have more people in precarious places," he said.

Monowi, Nebraska - Population : 1

Elsie Eiler is the most admired person in Monowi, Neb. She is also the smartest, wealthiest, best-looking and youngest.

"And the oldest," she is quick to add.

When you are the only resident of a community, every title fits. Eiler, 77, is the lone inhabitant of Monowi, a village in northeast Nebraska. That is unique, according to new 2010 U.S. Census data, which indicates Monowi to be the only incorporated town, village or city in the country with only one resident.

Monowi had two people in 2000, the census showed, but the other one was Eiler's husband, Rudy, and he died in 2004.

"We probably have the record by going down in population 50 per cent," Eiler quipped. "I chose to stay here after my husband died. It's home."

Eiler lives in a mobile home a half-block from the only business in town the Monowi Tavern. This is convenient because Eiler owns and operates the tavern. She and her husband bought the place in 1971 and she is there 12 hours a day serving drinks and food. Eiler also runs the town library, a tiny building jammed with 5,000 books that is dedicated to Rudy, a devoted reader.

While some shrinking communities let themselves become unincorporated, Eiler has done the required paperwork to keep Monowi a village. She serves as the village clerk, treasurer, mayor and council.

Eiler received considerable publicity after her husband died and she became the lone resident of Monowi seven years ago. Some national news outlets and talk shows told her story. Visitors from around the world passed through Monowi to meet her.

"They have been real friendly and curious," Eiler said.

Eiler said there is no disputing that she is the only person living in Monowi. She does not expect that to change any time soon.

"Hopefully I will be able to stay here," Eiler said. "It's where I want to be."

Earth Quake in Delhi, India

Tremors were felt across north India, including the national capital, following a 5.7-magnitude earthquake with its epicentre at the India-Nepal border Monday evening. A meteorological official said the tremors were felt at 5.02 p.m.

A senior official of the meteorological department described it as a quake of moderate intensity emerging from the Nepal-India border.

There have been no reports of any damage because of the earthquake.

"The tremors were also felt in Shimla town," Met Office director Manmohan Singh told IANS in the Himachal Pradesh capital.

Chandigarh and surrounding towns in Haryana and Punjab reported mild tremors too.

"The epicentre was at the India-Nepal border," said an official of the India Meteorological Department.

Police and fire brigade said there was no report of any casualty or damage immediately.

Up to 20 U.N. staff killed in north Afghan city

Afghan protesters angered by the burning of a Koran by a U.S. pastor killed up to 20 U.N. staff, beheading two foreigners, when they over-ran a compound in a normally peaceful northern city on Friday in the worst ever attack on the U.N. in Afghanistan.

At least eight foreigners were among the dead after attackers took out security guards, burned parts of the compound and climbed up blast walls to topple a guard tower, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a police spokesman for the northern region.

Afghan police and army, who the United Nations rely on for their first line of defense, were apparently unable to control the crowd. German troops are also stationed in Balkh, and the NATO-led coalition said they had received a request for help.

"Eight foreigners were killed, and two were beheaded," said Ahmadzai.

A United Nations spokesman confirmed employees had been killed but declined to comment on numbers of dead or their nationalities. He said the attack would not push the United Nations out of Afghanistan.