Inside

Osama bin Laden deadP- 24

Nat Saumi has unfinishedP- 26

P-5

P- 2

AG wedding pic.

P- 5New Modesto temple

New Modesto temple

� Vol-20 � Issue-04 � May-2011 � 510-677-4488� www.fijisun-usa.com

18

USA

Katrina, Sonakshistill at war

Bollywood

FIJI SUN IS NOW ON FACEBOOK FOR ALL

30th UMA Convention best in years

Emcee AtharSiddiqi introducing four panelists at the UMA convention at CHANDNI April 14 2011, see page12)

Revival of Fiji sugarcaneindustry legacy for Fiji PM

Frank BainimaramaWith the appointment of t henew CEO of Fiji SugarCorporation Abdul Khan and allocation of more amillion dollars to jump start the embattled sugarcaneindustry, Fiji PM Frank Bainimarama is certain tocreate a legacy. (Cont. page 10 )

AMRITSAR: Border SecurityForce (BSF) has been put on highalert along the 553 kilometer inter-national border with Pakistan inPunjab following the killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden bythe US troops in Pakistan.Security has also been tight-

ened at all the three ports of cityincluding Sri Guru RamdasInternational Airport, AttariInternational Railway station andAttari land border. Immigration offi-cials have taken adequate securitymeasures including passenger-pro-filing especially those arriving fromPakistan. The measure intends tothwart attempts of Pak based terrororganizations to send terrorists dis-guised as tourists or businessmeninto India."We have increased the man-

power and have asked the officersto move to border and guide thetroops on possible threat fromacross the border," said BSFInspector General, Frontier,

Himmat Singh told on Monday."There have been rocket attacksfrom Pakistan. So we have to be ona high vigil," said Himmat Singh.Indian villages in Punjab have

been on the target list of Pak basedterrorists. They have come underrocket attacks at least four timesince July 2009. The Pakistaniattack on Punjab borders in 2009was the first since Indo Pak parti-tion in 1947. And for the first time, inretaliation to rocket attacks, BSFhad opened machine gun and mor-tar fire targeting Pakistan's KSWala Border Outpost.

High alert on Indo-Pak border

Nafiza is Miss India Fiji 2011Twenty three year old

NafizaNisha of Rakiraki was tonightcrowned the 2011 Miss India Fiji atTappoos City in Suva in front of ahuge audience.The fifth year MBBS student of

the Fiji National University won theright to represent Fiji in the MissIndia International event which willtake place in Dubai next week.An emotional Nisha could not

contain herself as her name wasannounced.Speaking to FijiLive after the

crowning, she said, ‘I am beyondwords and can’t believe this hap-pened.’Nisha said she is going to give

her best in Dubai and will promotethe Bula Spirit. “I have a week toprepare and I will make sure that thebeautiful smiles of the Fijian peoplereach Dubai.” Nisha added.Meanwhile, Swaran Mala wasdeclared the second runner up whileShaizaJanif finished off as the firstrunner up.The concept behind the Miss

India Fiji Beauty Pageant is theinspirational work of RanjitRaju,President of www.IndoFiji.com, theworld’s first and largest website con-necting Fiji Indians worldwide on theinternet. RanjitRaju has beeninvolved in the entertainment indus-try in the San Francisco Bay Areafor the last 15 years and has beenvery active in the Fijian communityin the USA. Ranjit is now based inFiji and manages a Sound System,

DJ, Lighting and EventManagement Services business outof Sigatoka, Fiji.May 14th is a verysignificant date in our historybecause on 14 May 1879,“Leonidas”, the ship with the firstindentured laborers from India,arrived in Fiji. Ranjit’s main goal is torecognize this date, promote theIndian culture and develop andenhance the awareness of Indianarts, customs, philosophies and his-tory through the Miss India FijiPageant in Fiji. As a result of Ranjit’sexperience and involvement in theIndo-Fijian community, he wasappointed the National Director (Fiji)for the Miss India WorldwidePageant in March 2005 by Mr.Dharmatma Saran, President of theIndia Festival Committee, New York.

EDITORIAL2 �� May, 2011

M H Koya (PhD) Editor-Publisher

PO Box 265, Mt. Eden, CA 94557 Email: fijisun@gmail.comwww.fijisun-usa.comPHONE : 510-677-4488 FAX : 510-781-4884

ALl’ S HALAL MEAT MARKET

161 HARDAR RD, HAYWARD, CA 94544PH 510-538-1885

We sell fresh hand slaughteredLamb, Goat, Beef. Junglee Murghi

and Junglee Murgha and Ducks

Ali (OWNER )

CALL IN ADVANCE FOR BIG ORDERS

HOLY CELEBRATION IN SACRAMENTOBy courtesy of SantanDharam of Sacramento. pictures by Amrish Gosai

New Modesto Mandir onBroadmore Way

3�� May, 2011

4 �� May, 2011

COMMUNITY/BUSINESS NEWS 5�� May, 2011

The FIJI SUNUSA wishes toextend to you andyour festival com-mittee hearty con-gratulations onhosting the firstGIRMIT FESTIVAL

in Sacramento, USA. For all Fiji Indians GIRMIT is central

to their origin. It is also a reminder ofthe Indian heritage and memories oftheir true motherland India.It has been over 100 years since

their grandparents were lured andcheated into coming to FIJI by falsepresences and fake promises. Inscores of cases they were coerced intoleaving their beloved motherland. Thiswas a horrific breach of trust by theBritish trading companies and theiragents who defrauded our forefathers.Much work still remains to be done toaccurately document the entire historyof Fiji’s GIRMIT community. Let not thepassage of time burry and push intooblivion the treacherous circumstancesin which our forefathers were lured intoembarking on an unknown journey withunclear hopes for safe return home to

India. The alleged “agreement” underthe Indentured Laborer System thatcame to be known as “GIRMIT” was adocument that was beyond the under-standing of those who signed it to getwhat was presented as a job opportuni-ty. At a time when British was assailedfor practicing slavery system and hueand cry were raised in the BritishParliament to abolish the practice, theBritish Trading companies adopted anew language “The Indentured LaborerSystem” coning a new term for “slav-ery” to escape further bashing and legalchallenges. Those who left India underthe GIRMIT came to be known as “GIR-MITIYAS” (new name for slaves). Formany of us the descendants of the GIR-MITIYAS it is difficult to believe that weare children of Indian slaves. But that isthe hard fact. By the time the allegedGIRMIT expired or was completedmany had lost contacts with relativesand friends and many their hopes to goback home to India. Only a handful thathad some reading and writing abilitywere able to establish contacts eitherreturn or remained in touch with folksback home. Vague memories thathaunted the surviving GIRMITIYAS in

Fiji were retold in the form of story-telling or self-styled distorted andunclear country folk songs. The hard working laborers came

with a few virtues from home, the abili-ty to save money and passion to edu-cate their children. With the savingsfrom the meager income soon theywould stand up on their own feet, buildtheir home and move ahead in compar-ison to the local indigenous people andstart their own schools under treeshades. The first descendants of theGIRMITIYAS for the most part becamean educated and lite class in Fiji pavingthe way for a progressive community inthe tiny Island nation. One of the sonsborn to this class is Dr. BriLal, now aprofessor at the Australian NationalUniversity, has retraced some of thehistory of the GIRMITIYAS in his booksand writings. It is my hope that theSacramento GIRMIT festival will set atone for similar observations through-out USA and Canada for continuededucation of our heritage and culturefor all. God bless you the GIRMITAYSand God bless us all.

M H Koya (PhD)Editor/Publisher

GIRMIT FESTIVAL USA

My heartful appreciation and thanks to the followingpeople for their support, guidance and assistance.

Thakur Ranjit Singh Writer & HumanRights Activist

Chief Editor IndianWeekender(Auckland)

Dr GaneshChand, FijiDirector, FijiInstitute ofTechnology

Satish Rai -Sydney Australia

Director -Discover yourIndian Roots

Project

Anup Kumar, Sydney, Australia

President, nternationalGirmit Congress Inc

Dr. BrijLal has alsomade a significant con-tribution by way of hiswirings, documentariesand discourses in Fiji,

Australia and Mauritius.An excerpt can also by

found in editor’s FIJI DIASPORA.

DrKamleshSharma

Author andPublisher

KPSPublications

Plans by the Fijianauthorities are underwayto remove children fromthe capital city of Suva,local newspaper Fiji Svunreported Tuesday on itswebsite. UsaiaCirikiwai, asocial worker for theFoundation of People inthe South Pacific whichdeals with children livingon the street and thehomeless, was quoted assaying that this wouldtake some time as theyneeded to identify theproblems faced by thesechildren. Cirikiwai said"there are plans in thepipeline to take them offthe streets, especially inthe city area," addingmore planning must bedone before any childwas taken off the streets.According to Cirikiwai, todate, more than 80 chil-dren live on the streets ofSuva. In Fiji, some of

these children are basedat home, some live ingroups, some sleep onbenches, in parks, vacantbuildings or churchverandahs. Most of thetime, they could beexploited because oftheir vulnerability.Confirmation has alsobeen received that anoperation is currently inprogress to clear childrenand beggars off thestreets of Suva and carryout assessments beforeplacing them in institu-tions or other places. TheFiji Council of SocialWelfare, said propercounselors were neededto work with street peopleand the Social WelfareMinistry should ensurethat. "That is why there isa need for government tocheck the backgrounds ofpeople who set up homesfor the children," he said.

ANZ Bank calls forchange to Australia'stough stand on FijiThe ANZ Bank says Australia's so-

called smart sanctions aimed atsecuring the return of democracy inFiji have not worked and it has calledon the Australian government tochange its approach. The call followsthe launch of a Lowy Institute paperwhich suggested Australia lift its trav-el bans on Fiji and put together acoalition of nations, including Asiandemocracies such as India andIndonesia, to help Fiji with electoralreform in the lead up to a promisedpoll in 2014. The ANZ's Pacific CEO,Michael Rowland, says the change toAustralia's approach needs to hap-pen now. Presenter: Jemima Garrett, Speaker: Michael Rowland, ANZBank's Pacific CEO

58 people were arrested in thewestern division yesterday asOperation Copperfield continuestheir crackdown on metal theft.Operation Copperfield is a team ofpolice officers and Telecom FijiLimited officers, tasked with inves-tigating the theft of copper wiresfrom Telecom Fiji worth half a mil-lion dollars. Inspector AtunaisaSokomuri says out of the 58 thatwere arrested yesterday, 15 wereremanded while the rest werereleased on bail. Sokomuri says ascrap metal dealer was also arrest-ed and is still undergoing question-

ing by police. He adds the mainmessage here is that the police arenot taking this issue lightly andthose stealing metal will be caughtand dealt with.“We are really com-ing down hard on those who arestealing these copper wires fromthese companies especiallyTelecom Fiji and other companiesand we are leaving no stonesunturned. So if you are involvingyourselves in this practice, pleaserefrain from doing so.” Sokomurisays their officers are also inter-viewing scrap metal dealers in thenorth and central division.

Fiji to RemoveStreet Children fromCapital City Suva

58 arrested in coppertheft crackdown

AG wedding picture

There are a few things inyour life that "has to bedone", this website was oneof the things on my "to dolist". Although I must admitthat this urgecame about abit late in my life, due to thefact that I never chose tolearn about this subject. It’sa shame that in schools inFiji in the 1980's, we learntabout Capitan Cook, aboutthe First Governor Generalof Fiji, about the Queen, andthe Monarchy, but we neverstudied the most importantpart of the History of Fiji,which formed the founda-tions of the social and eco-nomic growth in Fiji - The

Girmit and the Girmitiya's. I,like many of you share thepassion, the desire, to knowand understand more about

the Girmit Era. To learnmore about the "Girmitiyas",their life, their dreams andaspirations, and amongstthat, the hardships. Thiswebsite has been created topay tribute to theseGirmitiyas and to ensurethat "we keep the light glow-ing" for as long as we can. Iwish to thank some veryknowledgeable people with-out whose support, andguidance, I wouldn’t be ableto compile and create thiswebsite. Firstly, SatishRaiwho has helped me onevery step.Thank you forallowing me to use your arti-cles, and thank you for the

direction. Thakur RanjitSingh, your passion, yourwork, and your arti-cles/writings say it all; it’slike the wind which re-ignites the flame. My heart-ful thanks to DrKamleshSharma for financially sup-porting and sponsoring gir-mitunited.org to run for onemore year (2009 - 2010).Thank you Gentlemen. Lastbut not least, the so manyemails of support, andpraise, from people who Imay have never met. Youremails are a source of inspi-ration - keep them coming!

Girmitunited.org Brisbane, Australia

The Fiji Indians keeping thelight GIRMITIYAS burning

Vanita Nair

FFIIJJII NNEEWWSS6 �� May, 2011

NigitaBhartiNand, 19 is one of the contestants vying forthe Miss India Fiji crown which will be held on March27th at the Tappoos City in

Police officers underinvestigation

Two police officers who are allegedto have assaulted primary school stu-dents in Cakaudrove are currentlyunder investigation in Labasa. PoliceSpokesman AtunaisaSokomuri con-firmed the two police officers havebeen taken to the Labasa PoliceStation to be investigated. “The policeofficers have been transferred to theLabasa Police Station and investiga-tions are ongoing at the moment.”“Until then, a directive has beenissued by the Police Commissioner forall officers not to abuse their powers.”“Those caught doing so will be disci-plined,” said Sokomuri. Seven stu-dents in classes Seven and Eight at aprimary school were allegedly assault-ed by the police officers last week.The students were examined by adoctor after the alleged assault andtheir medical reports are with police.

Fiji’s Attorney GeneralAiyazSayed-Khaiyum made astatement of a different kind whenhe declared his love and marriedElaGavoka at the Novotel conven-tion centre in Lami yesterday.The wedding was attended by

over 500 people including HisExcellency the PresidentRatuEpeliNailatikau, Prime MinisterCommodore Voreqe Bainimarama,cabinet ministers and family andfriends. In his speech the PrimeMinister joked that he was happy tosee Sayed-Khaiyum finally married

as he was previously the only singleminister in his cabinet.He also joked that he was begin-

ning to wonder why the AG wasconstantly in the west over the lastfew months where ElaGavoka lives

and works. Gavoka’s brother andmaternal uncle spoke for the bridewhile former Fiji Law SocietyPresident Chen Bunn Young spokefor the groom. In his speechGavoka’s maternal uncle said lovewas a beautiful thing and brokethrough any barriers including racialand religious barriers. The newlywedcouple are set to go off on theirhoneymoon this week.AG perhaps the first high ranking

Indian Muslim to marry a Fijiwoman in years which is not theusual norm in Fiji.

Fiji has beenadjudged the twelfthfriendliest country inthe world, making itone of the most pre-ferred tourism destina-tions around the globe. Fiji was the only

South Pacific islandcountry that wasranked high in a surveyundertaken by Forbes,a reputable internation-al magazine. The sur-vey which was pub-

lished early this monthand done in consulta-tion with a cross-sec-tion of world travelersin 2010, found Fiji asone of the “most wel-come nations.Thailand came first,

followed by Columbia,which was said to havevery pleasant citizensand was a preferreddestination, in spite ofthe perception of acenter of drug cartel operations. Australia took the third place,

while Costa Rica,Canada, Greece andIndia, captured thefourth, fifth, sixth andseventh spots respec-tively. The UnitedStates was adjudgedthe eighth friendliestnation, followed byTurkey in the ninthposition, New Zealand,tenth, Ghana eleventh,Fiji twelfth and Vietnamin 13th position. Fiji seta new record for the

number of tourists tothe Pacific nation lastyear and hosted631,000 internationalvisitors, a 16 per centrise from the previousyear. Australiaaccounted for the high-est number of touriststo Fiji, representing halfof all foreign visits.There were also agrowing number of vis-itors from Canada,India and Russia.

Fiji man chargedwith murder of

wife in NZThe husband of a Fijian Indian

woman who burned to death on aroadside near Huntly last monthwill reappear in the HamiltonDistrict Court today charged withher murder. Devesh Sharma, 29, is accused

of setting his wife Ranjeeta alightwhile still alive, before fleeing thecountry to Fiji with their son the fol-lowing day. He was arrested and returned to New Zealand overthe weekend to face a charge of murder. Sharma has yet to entera plea.

Walking to the tune of aclassic love song and stand-ing ovation, Fiji’s AttorneyGeneral AiyazSayed-Khaiyum escorted his newwife AdiElaGavoka into theNovotel hall in Lami for theirwedding reception. The twoexchanged their vows earliertoday at an intimate ceremo-ny that was described byPrime Minister, VoreqeBainimarama as “beautiful”.While addressing invitedguests, Sayed-Khaiyum saidhis heart was stolen by thewoman he now calls his wife.He said he was happy to

marry someone like AdiElawho had a simple and yetsophisticated outlook on life.“I’m happy to have some-

one who I can talk with andsomeone I can share thingswith.” he said while address-

ing the packed and beautiful-ly decorated Novotel hall.Decked out in a three

piece suit, the usually calmMinister said he was comfort-able talking about issues hisMinistry dealt with but feltthat it was difficult for him tospeak about his wedding;one that he felt was the mostimportant of his life. Sayed-Khaiyum thanked all hisguests including thePresident, RatuEpeliNailatikau, cabinet ministersand business moguls.Bainimarama congratulatedthe newly weds and wishedthem a happy and prosper-ous marriage. Wearing a silkwhite Chinese-collar shirt,the Prime Minister madeguests laugh when he jokedthat the Attorney Generaldoes not answer to him any-

more. Bainimarama said hewas happy that Sayed-Khaiyum was finally marriedbecause he “had been askedawkward questions beforeabout the Attorney General’sprivate life”. “Now I can saythat yes he is married” Headded. Sitting at the maintable were the couple,Sayed-Khaiyum’s parents,AdiEla’s mother and herbrother ApakukiGavoka. AdiEla’s older brother also

congratulated the happy cou-ple adding that he was happythat his sister was in capablehands. The bride is thedaughter of former Fiji RugbyUnion Chairman, ViliameGavoka. She hails fromNadroga where the AttorneyGeneral’s mother, LateefaSayed-Khaiyum also hailsfrom.

PPrreessiiddeenntt RRaattuuIIllooIIlloo ggeettss ffuullll mmiilliittaarryy ffuunneerraall sseerrvviicceess

Court blocksdeportation of Fiji

asylum seeker Jannif Ali came to the Bay Area

on a visa with his family in 1989 andapplied for political asylum, sayingsoldiers in his native Fiji had beatenhim and dynamited his house.Immigration officials took 14 years toschedule an interview with Ali andthen ordered him deported, sayingState Department reports showedthat conditions in Fiji had improved.But a federal appeals court saidFriday that immigration judges had-n't considered evidence of Fiji'streatment of minorities since the lat-est military coup, in 2006, and hadlooked only at general conditions inthe island nation - not the situation ofsomeone like Ali who had been per-secuted under a previous militaryregime. If U.S. authorities conductedan up-to-date analysis, there is a"reasonable likelihood" they wouldconclude that Ali would face perse-cution in Fiji, said the Ninth U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals in SanFrancisco. It returned his case to theJustice Department's immigrationcourts for further review. Ali lives in Palo Alto, works as a

handyman and has three adult chil-dren, one of them born here, said hislawyer, Anna Benvenue. She sayshe told her he has no family in Fiji, isscared to go back, and hopes tobecome a U.S. citizen.

Fiji rated 12th friendliest nation, great place for honermoon

Fiji’s Attorney General breaks traditionalbarriers and weds ElaGavoka

AG ties the knot with AdiEla

FFIIJJII 7�� May, 2011

Brief NewsRichard Lal new president FBOA The Fiji Bus Operators Associationhas appointed a new president.Richard Lal – the Managing Directorof PA Lal Coachworks has beenappointed to the post - at theAssociation AGM yesterday.Lal replaces Zane Dean – who hasannounced his retirement.Association general secretaryVirendraKewal has been appointedthe vice-president. The AGM washeld at the Novotel House in Lami –yesterday.

Man charged withtwo murdersA suspect in Police custody has beencharged with the murders of twoyouths in Kasavu, Nausori.The suspect, who was from thesame area as the deceased had sur-rendered himself to police atKorovou Police Station for question-ing. The suspects name has not yetbeen released. Assistant PoliceSpokesman JoneKalouniviti saidpolice had maintained a presence inthe area to ensure that there was nofurther violence and to keep thepeace between families.Vakaloloma, Padarathface forgery charges

Suva lawyer Aseri Vakaloloma andbusinessman Benjamin Padarathappeared at the Suva MagistratesCourt yesterday facing a count offorgery each.The court heard thatVakaloloma, between October 14,2009 to December 31, 2009, withintent to defraud, allegedly forged adocument namely the Articles ofAssociation for BECP EngineeringConstruction Fiji Limited. Theyallegedly made a false Page 27 ofthe said Articles of Association byaltering the particulars of subscribersfrom Adishwar Padarath of 57Duncan Road, Domain, Suva toanother person and placed his signa-ture as the witness to the signaturepurported subscribers. Acting ChiefMagistrate Usaia Ratuvili also heardthat Padarath on the same dateallegedly forged a certain documentnamely the Articles of Association forBECP Engineering Construction FijiLimited whereby making a falsePage 27 of the said Articles ofAssociation by altering the particularsof subscribers from AdishwarPadarath of 57 Duncan Road,Domain, Suva to another person andplaced his signature as one of thesubscribers.The matter has beenadjourned to May 20 for mention.

Bhikha seeks bail fortreatmentConvicted Suncourt Hardware man-aging director Dhansukh Lal Bhikhahas sought the court’s mercy to granthim bail pending appeal to travel toAustralia for medical treatment.Bhikha who is facing a four and ahalf year jail term was representedby his lawyer Shalvin Singh beforeAppeal Court Judge Justice WilliamMarshall. Mr Singh told the court thatBhikha is suffering from heart prob-lems and needed treatment.

Fiji’s public trans-portation systemcritically needs to

build up its capacitysays the TransportMinister ColonelT imoc i Les iNa t u va .Speaking at the open-ing of the Fiji BusOperators AssociationAnnual GeneralMeeting at the NovotelHouse in Lami thismorning – Natuva says emphasisshould be placed at getting a moresustainable mobility trend. Hesays failure to do this will result inless public interest - leading tomore congestion, higher fuelprices and worsening climatechange. “If both public and private

sources of financing forpublic transport arestrained, the risk is thatpublic transport will notbe able to absorb theincreasing demand inthe coming years. Whilethe car industry is cur-rently facing overcapac-ity, public transport criti-cally needs to build upits capacity. As policyand decision makers

our focus will be geared towardsthese emerging trends andtowards a more sustainable mobil-ity patterns.” Natuva adds - theirambition is to find the best solu-tions to keep people moving freelyand for Fiji to lead the region onthis issue.

Government is expected to trialit’s e-ticketing scheme at the start ofthe second school term. TelecomFiji Limited – who won the tender toundertake the e-ticketing concept,told the Fiji Bus OperatorsAssociation AGM yesterday – thatthey are working to ensure the trialruns smoothly. The e-ticketing con-cept will see students – that arebeing assisted by government –through the free bus free scheme -being issued an ID card – whichthey will use as their boarding pass.The student will tap the card onto aconsole -which will be installedinside all buses in the country. Theconsole will confirm and show thestudent’s name – school – wherethe student is coming from and the

amount of fare. TFL’sRadrodroTabualevu says – the cardis fully transferable – meaning any-one can use it – however – theyhave installed a feature in the cardthat will prevent it from being usedtwice in a given timeframe. “So – thechid can only use the card only once– in the morning. So – if they tap the2nd time – the console beeps. Youtap the 2nd time – it’s a sad beep.First time – happy beep. Secondtime – say the child uses the cardand gives it to a cousin outside to beused in another bus. But – whenthey tap – it can’t go.”Tabualevusays – the e-ticketing concept aimsto let the driver fully concentrate ondriving on the journey and not beinvolved in handling cash.

Civil service todownsize

The government is aiming toreduce its operating costs to 70 percent. PSC Permanent SecretaryParmesh Chand says currentlyonly 20% of government’s incomeis spent on people of Fiji in termsof capital investment. He says aspart of the Public Sector Reform,government has set a goal todecrease the number of civil ser-vants which currently stands at27,000. Chand says while govern-ment will downsize the civil ser-vice, they are ensuring that keygovernment departments such aseducation, health, agriculture arenot affected.He says a list of ministries and

departments have been identifiedwhere civil service will reduce.Chand says while doing so, the

government will ensure the depart-ments continue to run smoothlyand effectively as certain serviceswill be outsourced.

By Shih Hsiu-chuan A diplomatic cable recently

released by WikiLeaks suggeststhe modus vivendi approach adopt-ed by President Ma Ying-jeou’sdiplomatic policies has not keep theTaiwan issue out of China’s contro-versial aid policy. For the past fewdecades, China has emerged as amajor source of foreign aid aimed atsecuring access to resources nec-essary for its continued economicdevelopment and wooing nationsas part of its competition withTaiwan for diplomatic allies.

Beijing’s “no strings attached”aid programs have often drawnconcern from Western countries.Released by WikiLeaks onThursday, a cable dated May 19,2009, from the US embassy inBeijing recorded observations byNew Zealand embassy political offi-cial Tara Morton about China’s“massive” aid to Fiji, stating that“the People’s Republic of China

[PRC] had been candid with NewZealander interlocutors in linkingFijian support on the Taiwan issueto China’s development assistancethere.”However, in talking to US offi-

cials, Zhou Jian , then-deputy direc-tor of the North American andOceanian Affairs Division of China’sMinistry of Foreign Affairs, deniedthe link. According to the cable,Zhou said that with the recent thawin cross-strait relations, China’s pol-icy in the South Pacific was lookingpast its traditional focus on check-book diplomacy to buy UN votes toshore up its claim to Taiwan, andthe Taiwan issue had become “lessof a priority” in Chinese foreign pol-icy with the South Pacific.The cable showed disagreement

between China and countries suchas New Zealand and Australia overWestern-led international efforts topersuade the leadership in Fiji,which came to power after a coup in

2006, to carry out democraticreform. A Fijian embassy official toldthe US that a new package ofChinese economic assistance toFiji, that was announced earlier in2009, arrived just as Western sanc-tions were proving problematic andtherefore had a political effect, thecable said. Another cable datedFeb. 13, 2009, from the USembassy in Beijing showed thatAustralia and New Zealandexpressed concern to China on theeve of a trip to Fiji by Chinese VicePresident Xi Jinping , saying the tripwould send the wrong message inlight of international efforts to urgethe government in Suva to reform.Beijing downplayed the Xi visit,

calling it a transit stop on the way toLatin America, according to theFebruary cable.However, a cable in June 2009

quoted Zhou as saying that Chinahad signed at least four economicagreements with Fiji during Xi’s visit

and one of the agreements was fora 10 million yuan (US$1.54 million)grant, but the details of its use werestill under discussion. Aid programsoffered to Fiji and the SolomonIslands by Taiwan were also a con-cern for the US. A cable dated Jan.24, 2007, from the AmericanInstitute in Taiwan (AIT) showedthat then-AIT director StephenYoung met with then-minister of for-eign affairs James Huang to dis-cuss Fiji and the Solomon Islands.Young told Huang that it was

particularly important that Taiwanfollow its democratic values in itsrelations with Fiji and the SolomonIslands, and repeatedly said thatTaiwan should hold discussionswith Australia on the SolomonIslands, the cable said.A year before the Fiji coup, then-

president Chen Shui-bian made anunscheduled visit to Fiji — whichrecognized China — during

Over 5,000 trafficoffences recorded

for MarchOver 5,000 Traffic InfringementNotices were issued last month – bythe Land Transport Authority and theFiji Police Force. Transport MinisterColonel TimociLesiNatuva says this isan increase of 53 per cent comparedto the month of February. Over 3,000notices were issued by LTA and over2,000 notices were issued by thePolice. 1,774 Defect Orders werealso issued by the LTA. Natuva says -the notices were issued followingintensive efforts by the two institutionsto ensure illegal operation is eliminat-ed. He says – they have also recruit-ed 15 new enforcement officers, pur-chased 22 new enforcement vehiclesand 5 laptops to be used for registra-tion and licensing data verificationpurposes. Road Marshall officershave also been engaged to appre-hend illegal operators and will reporton any malpractice related offences.

E-ticketing to go ontrial in 2nd school termPublic transport to build up capacity

China aid linked to Taiwan issue: cableThe WikiLeaks release of a US transmission from 2009 showed that a New Zealand offi-

cial said China had been candid about a ‘quid pro quo’ with Fiji

One of Australia’s biggest inter-national financial institutions saysAustralia’s so-called smart sanc-tions aimed at forcing early elec-tions in Fiji have not worked.It has called on the Australian

government to change itsapproach.ANZ Bank’s Pacific chief execu-

tive officer, Michael Rowland, saidAustralia’s heavy approach hadfailed. Mr Rowland said theAustralian government should takeup a suggestion from the LowyInstitute, a major political think tank.This urged that Australia put togeth-er a coalition of countries, includingthe Asian democracies, to offerelectoral help to Fiji. The newapproach would start with confi-dence building and an easing oftravel restrictions and, if Fiji acceptsthe assistance, include a range ofnew initiatives to improve the rela-tionship.Without this assistance, Fiji’s

economy is likely to suffer further,Mr Rowland said.Mr Rowland said of the

Australian government’s current Fijipolicy: “We think we really need tolook at this differently and it is criti-cal that any approach to the FijiGovernment works.“Therefore there is more of a

chance in our view that a coalitionof interested nations, preferablylead by a respected Head of State,comes to the party and has opendialogue with Fiji. “We think it’smore than just an Australian issuenow. “We think it’s a regional issueand we think the Fiji Governmentwould be more open a multi-coali-tion approach. “We think that Asiahas a lot to offer Fiji. We are seeingwith ANZ’s broader supra-regionalapproach that there is a lot ofinvestment interest in Fiji from Asiaand we think, therefore, that thereis a real role to play by a number ofthe Asian countries.

ANZ calls for change of Aussie stand on Fiji

INDIA NEWS8 �� May, 2011

COIMBATORE: Yoga guruBaba Ramdev on Thursday said hewill decide on his entry into thepolitical arena after June.However, Ramdev said,he will not seek power orany post if at all a "plat-form" was formed.The yoga guru told

reporters he wanted tocleanse the system andif a political party isformed, he will field can-didates in all the 534 LokSabha seats in the next generalelections. "They could be from dif-ferent political parties or fields, who

would be clean, non-corrupt andwork to wipe out corruption," saidRamdev, who is also the chief of

'Bharat Swabhiman', asocial and spiritualmovement. Once these candi-

dates are elected, theface of India will changetotally and it will becomea corruption-free nation,he claimed. On the term'saffron terrorism',Ramdev said saffron is

the colour of the clothes worn bysaints who practiced nationalismand not terrorism.

Will decide on joining politicsafter June: Baba Ramdev NEW DELHI: The Rs 54,000

crore Posco integrated steel plantgot the final clearance from Unionenvironment and forests ministry onMonday. Jairam Ramesh gave thenod for the pending forest clearanceto the state government,paving the way for theKorean steel giant toacquire the forest landrequired for the project. InJanuary, Ramesh had putone last condition beforethe state government toacquire the forest land. Hehad asked for an assur-ance from the state that no rights ofpeople existed on the land under theForest Rights Act. The state sent itsassurance but Ramesh, havingreceived evidence to the contrary,

asked the Naveen Patnaik govern-ment to come back again with clarity.The state government wrote back tothe Centre on April 29 claiming thatthe resolutions of the two villages –Govindpur and Dhinkia -- opposing

the plant and claimingcommunity rights over theforests were illegal.Ramesh moved quickly todecide in favour of thestate government, dismiss-ing the village resolutionsthat he had a copy of. Forlong under pressure fromthe PMO on the project,

passing the order in favour of thestate government, Ramesh noted,"Faith and trust in what the state gov-ernment says is an essential pillar ofcooperative federalism."

Jairam Ramesh clears Posco project

NEW DELHI: If the US cantake out Osama bin Laden, whycan't India do the same withDawood Ibrahim, Hafeez Saeedand others of their ilk? Forstarters, lack of political will,essentially due to the fear of anescalation with a nuclear-armedPakistan.But even if the traditionally

risk-averse political leadershipdid decide that enough isenough, India simply does nothave the wherewithal to exe-cute back ops. This is truer interms of intelligence and plan-ning, rather than the capabilityof special forces themselves.Moreover, Pakistan is not a

country with rag-tag armedforces. Any move to insert andlater extract special forces deepinside Pakistan through heli-copters, like the US did to elimi-

nate Osama, will have to con-tend with robust air defence net-works and combat air patrolsgeared to shoot down "enemy"aircraft. With military bases,logistics, over-flight facilities andongoing operations in Pakistan,the US faced no such hurdles.In the India-Pakistan context, itwould be tantamount to declara-tion of war. A "surgical strike" would, in

all probability, lead to a war-likesituation, with Pakistan alwaysbeing over-eager to brandish itsnuclear weapons. But let's takeintelligence first. Indian intelli-gence agencies like RAW andIB suffer from several seriouslacunae that prevent them fromgenerating and sustaining cred-ible intelligence on high-valuetargets within Pakistan.A former senior intelligence

official, for instance, admittedthat they were never able togather specific details of all theanti-India terrorist-trainingcamps that they have claimedexist in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Thisabsence of "real-time" intelli-gence, with exact coordinates,was one of the reasons thatcame in the way of an aerialstrike by IAF fighters after thehorrific 26/11 Mumbai attacks.India, as yet, also does not

have high-tech surveillancetools used by the US, which canpick up even match-boxes onthe ground through satellites, orfor that matter combat droneslike Predators controlled fromthousands of miles away.Another officer pointed out thatIndian intelligence lacked thekind of discipline the US agen-

cies had, especially on cultivat-ing and sustaining sources."Every source cultivated by anUS intelligence operative isaccounted for, and is verifiable,"he explained. Conversely, in theIndian system, "there are far toomany loopholes" and most ofthe intelligence flow is "ham-pered by vested interests andinabilities of individual opera-tives". In fact, he said, that isone reason why many of themare in favour of parliamentaryaccountability, which would helpimprove the intelligence set-up.While Indian intelligence opera-tives have carried out success-ful operations in places likeBangladesh, Nepal andMyanmar to target Indian terror-ists, the record of surgicalstrikes deep inside Pakistan isvirtually non-existent.

NEW DELHI: While Indiawas spared of any attackdirectly masterminded, oreven aided by Osama him-self, it did find mention in hismessages suggesting thatthe terror ideologue lookedupon India as an enemy anda potential target. Thealliance between al-Qaidaand Lashkar-e-Taiba, India'smain terror threat, suggeststhat Osama had evolvedinto more than being just aninspirational figure for sev-eral terror groups targetingIndia.The links between anti-

India terror groups andOsama's jihadis have beenknown at least since 1998when members of Harkat-ul-Ansar, a terrorist groupfocused on Kashmir, train-ing alongside al-Qaidamembers in Afghanistanwere killed in a US missileattack. In fact, the very firstreference to India by Osamacame in May 1998 when hesaid in a press conferenceat Khost in Afghanistan thathe would love to join the

jihad in Kashmir if thePakistani authoritiesallowed him. Osama'sanswer came in response toa question from a Pakistanijournalist. In the same con-ference, he announced theformation of InternationalIslamic Front for JihadAgainst the US and Israel.This was followed by a

long pause on India, eventhough his No.2 Ayman AlZawahiri regularly spewedvenom not just against Indiabut also Hindus. In an April2006 audio message, theemir of al-Qaida broke hissilence to speak of a"Crusader-Zionist-Hinduconspiracy" againstMuslims and also referred toKashmir."Meanwhile, a UN reso-

lution passed more than halfa century ago gave MuslimKashmir the liberty ofchoosing independencefrom India. George Bush,the leader of the Crusaders'campaign, announced a fewdays ago that he will orderhis converted agent

Musharraf to shut down theKashmir mujahideencamps, thus affirming that itis a Zionist-Hindu waragainst Muslims," he said inthe message which soughtto highlight conspiraciesagainst Muslims all over theworld. According to securityexpert B Raman, the mes-sage lacked focus.It was never established

why he made the remark inthe context of East Timor'sindependence fromIndonesia. Much before

9/11, in November 1998, theArmy claimed to haveseized from militants, afteran encounter in the PirPanjal ranges, some cardswith messages from Osamadescribing India as enemyNo.1. It is a safe surmisethat Osama's dependenceon Pakistan for his survivalmay have forced him to buymore heavily intoIslamabad's designs againstIndia. A Wikileaks cable inDecember last yearrevealed that Osama was

willing to divert $20 millionto support groups active inKashmir and also that heasserted that the jihadwould not suffer from lack offunds. In a meeting with USofficials, joint secretary(cabinet secretariat) SharadKumar stated that Indianintelligence had transcriptsof pre-9/11 meetingsbetween Osama andTaliban chief Mullah Omarduring which terrorism inJammu and Kashmir wasdiscussed.That India was an al-

Qaida target became obvi-ous in 2007 after 9/11accused Khalid SheikhMohammed revealed in histestimony at GuantanamoBay that he was involved ina conspiracy to bomb theIsraeli embassy in Delhibefore 2003. In a tapereleased in 2003, Ayman AlZawahiri warned Pakistanarmy officers that PresidentMusharraf would ''hand youover to the Hindus and fleeto enjoy his secret bankaccounts" if India attacked

their country. He urged themto overthrow Musharraf andalso condemned then IsraeliPM Ariel Sharon's visit toIndia.In 2009, there were two

warnings to India from al-Qaida. The first was a tele-phonic threat in February2009, the authenticity ofwhich could not be estab-lished, warning India not toattack Pakistan and anotherone seven months later inwhich it warned Germany ofattacks like those in Madridand Mumbai.From time to time, there

have been reports about thepresence of al-Qaida fromJ&K to Bihar but this hasnever been established.Security experts like Ramanhave warned though thatLeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed,Harkat-ul-Mujahideen andHuJI could "turn out to bethe Trojan horse of al-Qaida". India's former NSAM K Narayanan even saidthat LeT was the "most visi-ble manifestation" of al-Qaida in India.

'Tere Bin Laden' producerconsidering re-release of movieMUMBAI: Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden's

death has led to an unlikely effecton Bollywood. There is a moveafoot to re-release the Osama-spoof, Tere Bin Laden, in cinemahalls and on satellite channels.The film's producer, Pooja ShettyDeora, told TOI, "We are consid-ering re-releasing the movie, butwe have still not been able tocontact our distributors in thisregard. We will have to wait for acouple of days to gauge whether the public reallywants to see the film in theatres all over again."The interest was also apparent on social network-

ing sites; the film's title was often used across variouswebsites throughout Monday. One Tweet said, "BinTere Laden America is lost they'll have to create anew victim and find the next nation to ruin (sic)."Writer Pritish Nandy tweeted, "Interested to see whois presented as the captured young wife of Osama.Anyone in Hollywood will give her right arm for therole." Another one said: "What will Al Qaeda do afterLaden is dead watch Tere Bin Laden!.(sic)."

Arunachal identifiesCM copter crash site

ITANAGAR: The ArunachalPradesh government on Mondaysaid it has zeroed in on an area inWest Kameng district borderingBhutan from where a helicoptercarrying chief minister DorjeeKhandu disappeared. Followinginputs from ISRO and IAF, the gov-ernment has identified a 66 sqkmarea in West Kameng district bor-dering Bhutan to trace the missingchopper. The four-seater single-engine Pawan Hans helicopterwent missing on Saturday after tak-ing off from Tawang with Khandu,his security officer, Yeshi Choddak,Yeshi Lhamu, sister of TawangMLA Tsewang Dhondup and crewmembers Capt J S Babbar andCapt T S Mamik on board.

Osama saw India as enemy, wanted to join jihad in Kashmir

Why can't India do a US to the likes of Dawood, Saeed?

PAKISTAN NEWS 9�� May, 2011

Ahuge window shaking banghere in Abbottabad Cantt. Ihope its not the start of some-

thing nasty" — that's what wentthrough Sohaib Athar's mind as ahelicopter hovering nearby rattledthe windows and doors around 1amnear the Abbottabad mansion whereOsama Bin Laden was hauled in.After posting the information on

Twitter via his account"ReallyVirtual," the 33-year-old ITconsultant who also runs a coffeeshop, followed it up with a blow-by-blow account of everything he heardand overheard in the next fewhours. And by doing so, he unwit-tingly live tweeted the US raidagainst Osama Bin Laden andbecame a celebrity the followingday. Athar, who is "taking a breakfrom the rat-race by hiding in themountains with his laptops", tweet-ed every bit of information that camehis way. He was disturbed by thenoise generated by the helicopter atan unearthly hour. "Go away heli-copter before I take out my giantswatter," he joked in a tweet around1am. Athar was located barely 2-3kilometres from the spot. Soon healso tweeted, "Since Taliban (proba-bly) don't have helicopters, andsince they're saying it was not"ours", so must be a complicated sit-uation." It was only some eighthours later that the official

announcement confirming the oper-ation and the consequent death ofbin Laden came from the US presi-dent's office. At about 9 in the morn-ing, Athar tweeted. "Report from ataxi driver: The army has cordonedoff the crash area and is conductingdoor-to-door search in the surround-ing." About an hour later, heretweeted the news of Osama'sdeath from a New York based tweet-er @IsuckBigTime. And then itdawned upon Athar what he hadinadvertently done. "Uh oh, now I'mthe guy who liveblogged the Osamaraid without knowing it," he tweeted,with a composure he maintained forthe remainder of the day. His twitter-follower count climbed steadily. By5.30pm on Monday, it stood at near-

ly 25,000; 5,000 more than what itwas half an hour earlier. Tweetspoured in to enquire after his safetyand to tell him how famous he hadbecome for live tweeting the raid. "Iam JUST a tweeter, awake at thetime of the crash. Not many twitterusers in Abbottabad, these guys aremore into Facebook. That's all," hetweeted a few hours later. As Athartweeted about traffic blocks in vari-ous parts of town, he also posted apicture of the scene outside his win-dow that showed a deserted streeton a sunny Monday morning inAbbottabad. Needless to say, newsorganizations flooded him with inter-view requests. "Reuters got mebefore I could go to sleep," hetweeted later.

Host to the ghost:Was Osama inISI guesthouse?LONDON: The sprawling house

in the garrison town of Abbottabad,about 60km from Islamabad, whereOsama bin Laden was killed maybe an Inter-Services Intelligence'sguesthouse, a Pakistani sourcetold TOI. There was no confirma-tion of the claim, but the fact thatthe house was within a few hun-dred metres of the Pakistani mili-tary academy and in an area whereretired army generals stay, lendscredibility to the assertion.Farzana Shaikh, of Royal

Institute of International Affairs, toldBBC: ''Many people around theworld are going to find their worstsuspicions confirmed — that therehas been, right from the outset,complicity on the part of thePakistani state in aiding and abet-ting Osama bin Laden."Hamid Gul, the former ISI chief,

told a TV channel that most bignames (in the Al-Qaida leadership)were caught in Pakistan and theUS didn't take the Pakistan govern-ment into confidence in the opera-tion. ''Are our military installationssafe (from the American interven-tion)," Gul asked. James Inkster, retired assistant

chief of the MI6, the British externalintelligence organisation, said:''This is as good as it gets.

Hundreds joinfirst Pakistanrally to honourOsama bin LadenQUETTA, PAKISTAN:Hundreds took to the streetsof Pakistan's city of Quetta onMonday to pay homage toOsama bin Laden, chantingdeath to America and settingfire to a US flag, witnessesand organisers said. Angryparticipants belonging to areligious party in Quetta, thecapital of southwesternprovince Baluchistan, wereled by federal lawmakerMaulawi Asmatullah. Theyalso torched a US flag beforedispersing peacefully. It wasthe first rally in Pakistan afterthe United States announcedthat bin Laden had beenkilled in an overnight com-mando mission in Pakistan.Organisers said between1,000 and 1,200 peopleattended the rally, but wit-nesses put the figure closerto 800. "Bin Laden was thehero of the Muslim world andafter his martyrdom he haswon the title of great mujahed(Muslim fighter)," Asmatullahsaid.

WASHINGTON: Apparently fear-ing a leak, the US did not informPakistan about the closely guardedoperation on the outskirts ofIslamabad on Monday that resulted inthe death of al Qaida mastermindOsama bin Laden, a senior adminis-tration official said. "The informationwas not shared with any other countryincluding Pakistan," the official said,adding that in such a kind of opera-tion, the information is kept only to afew people and this was done in thiscase too. The official told WhiteHouse correspondents that the suc-cessful 40-minute operation was car-ried out by two US helicopters.

Besides, Osama bin Laden, threemen and one woman was killed in thisoperation. One helicopter was dam-aged due to mechanical failure, but noUS special forces were injured or hurtin this operation. Announcing thedeath of bin Laden, President BarackObama asked Pakistan to co-operatewith the US in the war against terror."Going forward, it is essential thatPakistan continue to join us in the fightagainst al Qaeda and its affiliates,"Obama said in his live televisedspeech. "Over the years, I've repeat-edly made clear that we would takeaction within Pakistan if we knewwhere bin Laden was.

ISLAMABAD: A roadside bombripped through a Pakistan navy buson a key thoroughfare in the south-ern port city of Karachi onThursday, killing three persons andinjuring more than 15 others in thethird such attack in two days. Twonavy sailors and a civilian werekilled, a naval spokesman told themedia. Over 15 injured people,including civilians, were taken totwo nearby hospitals. Officials atJinnah Hospital said one civilianwas in a serious condition. The buscarrying junior naval personnel wastargeted as it left a naval facility onShara-e-Faisal road. DeputyInspector General of Police IftikharTarar said the attack was similar tothe bombing of two Pakistan navy

buses on Tuesday that killed fourpersons and injured 56 others. Thebomb, believed to be rigged to amotorcycle and containing aboutthree kilograms of explosives, wastriggered by remote control as thebus passed by, Tarar said.Explaining the possible motive ofthe attack, Tarar said security agen-cies are the "main target" of terror-ists. At least three vehicles, includ-ing a bus, and a petrol pump weredamaged by the blast. Footage ontelevision showed one side of thenavy bus was severely damaged bythe explosion. The windows wereblown out and shrapnel rippedthrough the side of the bus.Armedforces personnel cordoned off thesite and scoured the area for clues.

No group claimed responsibility fortoday's attack. The PakistaniTaliban had claimed responsibilityfor Tuesday's attacks on two navybuses.Taliban spokesmanAhsanullah Ahsan had said onTuesday that the militants wouldtarget security forces in futurebecause they were "killing their ownpeople in Waziristan and elsewhereat the behest of the US".The attack occurred at the same

spot where slain former premierBenazir Bhutto's motorcade wasattacked by two suicide bombersshortly after she returned toPakistan from self-exile in October2007. Karachi is Pakistan's biggestcity and home to the main base ofthe Pakistani Navy.

ISLAMABAD: Prime MinisterYousuf Raza Gilani onWednesday mounted a defence ofPakistan's ISI in the wake ofreports that the US had listed it asa terrorist support organisation,saying the spy agency had thebacking of his government for allactions. "Wrong propaganda isbeing floated about intelligenceagencies through newspapers. I want to tell them that the intel-

ligence agencies are under thePakistan government," Gilani saidat an official function on the out-skirts of Islamabad. He contendedthat intelligence agencies, includ-ing the powerful ISI, functionunder the directives of the govern-ment."And without the govern-ment, they can't do anything that

goes against national interests. Ifthe ISI has done something, theyhad our backing and we are withthem," he said.Gilani's remarkscame in the wake of a warning byAdmiral Mike Mullen, America'stop military official, that the ISI'slong-standing ties with theHaqqani militant network are atthe core of US's strained andproblematic relations with thePakistan. Secret documentsleaked by WikiLeaks showed thatthe US military categorised the ISIalong with al-Qaida, Taliban,Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat ul-Jihadal-Islami as terrorist or terroristsupport groups.The ISI was listedalong with the terror groups in adocument provided to officials who

assessed terror suspects detainedat Guantanamo Bay. The revela-tion came at a time when tiesbetween Pakistani and Americanspy agencies have hit a new lowfollowing the arrest in January ofCIA contractor Raymond Davis forgunning down two Pakistani menin January. Davis was pardoned and freed

by a court after over two milliondollars was paid as "blood money"under Islamic laws to the familiesof the dead men but ties betweenthe ISI and the CIA are yet to berestored to an even keel. Pakistanhas also strongly opposed attacksby CIA-operated drones in its trib-al belt, described by American offi-cials as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida elements.

Man who tweeted the Osama operation live

Gilani defends ISI, says govt backs all actions of spy agency

Bomb attack on Pakistan navy bus kills three Pakistan not informed aboutstrike on Osama hideout

Rushdie demandsPakistan be declared

terrorist stateWASHINGTON: Author Salman

Rushdie, target of extremists formany years, led the way indemanding that Pakistan bedeclared a terrorist state, as thedodgy US ally is coming under firefrom across the American politicalspectrum for its fostering of terror-ism and using it as a policy option.

Osama bin Laden has givenway to Pakistan as the trendingtopic in US political and media dis-course as the country's flirtationwith terrorism is being exposedruthlessly. Across the country, intelevision debates and radioshows, in print op-eds and onlineanalyses, demand is growing to cutall aid to a country that is variouslyreferred to as "Terroristan" and"Paranoidistan."

PACIFIC/COMMUNITY/BUSINESS NEWS10 �� May, 2011

While political represen-tation for people ofcolor continues to

decline nationally, the SanFrancisco Bay Area has bene-fited from political reforms thathave boosted the number ofminority elected officials —andmade ethnic voters excited toparticipate in the electoral pro-cess.

Not surprisingly, the old guardhasn’t taken lightly to these chal-lenges to its power. Now reformssuch as ranked-choice voting(RCV) and public financing ofcampaigns are under attack frommainstream media and businessgroups.

RCV (also known as instantrunoff) allows voters to selecttheir first-, second- and third-choice candidates when theycast their ballots for city officials,thus avoiding costly runoff elec-tions. Last November, RCVhelped Oakland’s Jean Quanovercome a 4-to-1 spendingadvantage by the favorite,Democratic powerhouse DonPerata, to become the first Asian-American woman directly electedmayor of a major U.S. city.

In San Francisco, meanwhile,RCV and public financing havehelped elect the most diverseBoard of Supervisors in the city’shistory. Currently, eight out of 11supervisors are people of color,including four Asians (three ofwhom are Chinese); three arefemale and two are openly gay.Since RCV and public financingbecame the law, the number ofpeople of color elected to theBoard of Supervisors has dou-bled.

The ability of diverse commu-nities to choose their own repre-sentatives is an important indica-tor of the health of our democra-cy.

But two leading San Franciscoinstitutions—the San FranciscoChronicle and the Chamber ofCommerce, whose president,Steve Falk, is the Chronicle’s for-mer publisher— are urging

repeal of RCV and a return to theold runoff system.

Oddly, RCV opponents(including political consultantswhose candidates, such asPerata, have lost in RCV races)are calling multiracial coalitionbuilding "gaming the system."Instead of asking how these well-paid consultants could have runmore effective campaigns, theyare blaming RCV.

RREEFFOORRMM 11:: AANN EENNDD TTOO VVOOTTEE--SSPPLLIITTTTIINNGG

Perhaps the most importantway that RCV helps voters ofcolor is by allowing several can-didates from the same ethniccommunity to run against eachother without splitting the ethnicvote. In 2008, RCV made it pos-sible for four strong Latino candi-dates to compete in SanFrancisco’s heavily HispanicDistrict 9 without fear of losing toa non-Latino because voterscould rank several candidates astheir first, second, and thirdchoices.

Last November, RCV allowedDistrict 10—one of the lastremaining black communities inSan Francisco—to elect anAfrican-American supervisordespite a crowded field. MaliaCohen won by picking up thesecond- and third-choice votes ofsupporters of other black (andwhite and Asian) candidates.

The next big test of RCV hap-pens this fall, when, for the firsttime, San Francisco’s mayoralelection will be subject to ranked-choice balloting. The fieldincludes at least three Asian can-didates: state Senator LelandYee, Assessor-Recorder PhilTing, and Board of SupervisorsPresident David Chiu.

If the city were still using theold voting system, there is nodoubt that the Asian vote wouldsplit among these candidates,possibly resulting in none of themmaking it into the December

runoff. To prevent that from hap-pening, the Asian communitywould have already seen all sortsof backroom wheeling and deal-ing, as powerbrokers twistedarms to keep two of those candi-dates out of the race.

But with RCV, all of them canrun—generating unprecedentedexcitement in the Asian commu-nity. Whichever candidate provesstrongest will emerge with themost Asian first-, second- andthird-place votes

RREEFFOORRMM 22:: MMOORREE VVOOTTEERRSSHHAAVVEE AA SSAAYY

RCV also has significantlyboosted the ability of voters—especially in communities ofcolor—to have a say in the finaloutcome of an election. This isbecause RCV takes advantage ofthe turnout and excitement gen-erated during November elec-tions—when more people tend tocome to the polls because ofpresidential and gubernatorialelections than turn out to vote inJune primaries or Decemberrunoffs.

In the 2010 Oakland mayoralelection, held in November, some119,000 voters cast ballots, com-pared with 84,000 in the 2006election, held in June. That’s a

huge increase—42 percent. But the greater impact is felt

after the first round of RCV votesare counted. In RCV, as in regu-lar elections, any candidate whowins more than 50 percent of thevote in the first round is the win-ner. But in cases where there isno clear victor, RCV factors insecond- and third-choice rank-ings—which gives a lot more vot-ers a say in picking the final win-ner than happens in runoffs(where the turnout is almostalways lower, so the ultimatechoice is made by a much small-er pool of voters.) In Oakland, forexample, Jean Quan won with54,000 votes, versus 42,000 forRon Dellums in 2006.

In the 34 races held in SanFrancisco since the first RCVelection in 2004, nearly all haveseen more voters participating inthe final RCV tally than in the oldDecember runoffs. A study of the2005 Assessor Recorder's racefound that RCV had increasedcitywide voter participation in thedecisive round of that race by168 percent, or 120,000 votersmore than if there had been aDecember runoff. Moreover, thestudy found that voter participa-tion tripled in six of the poorestand most diverse neighborhoodsdue to having a single RCV elec-tion in November.

RREEFFOORRMM 33:: BBIIGG MMOONNEEYY NNOOLLOONNGGEERR BBEEAATTSS AALLLL

RCV also has reduced theimpact of money in elections—acritical issue since the U.S.Supreme Court’s disasterousdecision in the Citizens Unitedcase last year gave carteblanche to corporate interestsseeking to influence the politicalprocess. With no runoff to worryabout, candidates only have toraise enough funds for theNovember election.

More important, to win theyhave to get out into the communi-ty to earn second and third rank-

ings from supporters of othercandidates. With RCV, grass-roots campaigning can be moreinfluential than big-money ads.

Apparently the Chronicle—which endorsed Perata as well astwo Board of Supervisors candi-dates who lost because ofRCV—does not value diversityand broad representation. Sincelast November's election, theChronicle has published morethan three dozen articles,columns and blog posts highlight-ing RCV elections, many with anegative slant. One column call-ing for repeal of RCV was writtenby the Chronicle’s editorial pageeditor. Another anti-RCV article,the day’s lead story, was basedon a methodologically dubiouspoll commissioned by theChamber of Commerce, an RCVopponent, and purporting toshow that RCV confuses manyvoters.

Yet the Chronicle has neverreported on two exit poll studiesconducted by respectedresearchers at San FranciscoState University from in 2004-05that showed that 87 percent ofrespondents said they "under-stood" RCV. Wouldn’t thoseSFSU polls have been worth amention in an article about voterconfusion?

Do we detect a pattern here?If the Chronicle truly believesRCV is confusing, why didn’t itpublish more articles aimed ateducating voters before lastNovember’s election?

What do the Chronicle and theChamber of Commerce haveagainst representation from com-munities of color? That's whateveryone should be asking them.

Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont is executive director

of Oakland Rising(www.oaklandrising.org) andAlicia Garza is co-executive

director of People Organizedto Win Employment Rights(POWER) in San Francisco

(www.peopleorganized.org).

(Continue from page 1)

Applauding the bold stepstaken by the Hon. Prime Minister,Frank Bainimaram, the editor:

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister:Revival of Fiji Sugar Industry

will be your legacyOne of the deepest concerns

for us the Fiji immigrant commu-nity living abroad has been Fiji’sdeclining sugar industry once thebackbone of the economy.

I would be frustrated if you leftthe office without doing anything.

God bless you! You will godown in history for taking a boldstep to restore this vital industryto its original position.

I read carefully the recent

press report by the new CEOAbdul Khan who seems to makemuch sense in these dark daysof the industry and appears tohave a clear and convincing pathto make significant progress.

The nation would be highlyindebted to you sir for grantingover a $100 Million to jump startindustry that we have all beenproud of and directly benefittedfrom for affluent living.

I look forward to meeting yourExcellency at the 50thAhmadiyya Muslim JubileeCelebration on my way toAustralia. My continued bestwishes and prayers for you forleading Fiji on a path to success.”

(Editor)

Reforms That Helped Elect Candidates of Color in SF, Oakland Under Attack

Revival of Fiji sugarcane industry

SHIU BHAWAN SARASWATIRAMAYAN BHAJAN MANDALI OFMODESTO, CA has opened a newMandir in Modesto this April 2011commencing with the grand cele-bration with Ram Navmi. It is knownas SHIU BHAWAN MANDIR andopen to all Devotees. The Mandali

was founded in 1986 by LateMrSarjeet Singh and Late MrHariSingh and has Running Trusteeswith approximately 40 CommitteeMembers. Shiu Bhawan Mandir islocated at 201 N Carpenter Rd,Modesto, Ca 95358. The RamNavmi celebration was very suc-

cessful and Ramayan is held everyTuesdays from 7-9pm by MandirPurohit Pt Hari Shanker Sharma,for further information, please callthe President, MrReetesh Chand at209-247-5336. (Please check usout on Facebook for details). Thankyou, PrakeshDeo.

NEW MANDIR IN MODESTO

HEALTH/FITNESS 11�� May, 2011

From workouts to a healthydiet to medical checkupsand getting your timing

right with healthy habits makes abig difference to every dayhealth. Not only will routinescheduling of all healthy habitslead to a better understanding ofwhat your body needs, but it willalso enable you to follow thesehealthy habits more closely andappropriately. The differencebetween good and bad health isall about planning and timingand today we are looking at thewhen to do what in healthy living.If you're past 30, get a choles-terol check done at least once ayear: In order to get a completepicture about your lipid levels, goin for routine cholesterol tests.Since cholesterol related healthconcerns often go undetecteddue to low to no symptoms, it'sbest to stay alert. Commit a partof your day to daily exercise: Theverdict's still out on what's thebest time to exercise, but sever-al studies prove that exercisingby daily appointment is the mosteffective way to maintain regularworkout. While your workout tim-ings depend on your dailyschedule and mental make-up,designating a fixed time for dailyexercise is the way to go.Make sure you floss at night:

Your teeth will thank you for thisdaily habit. Always floss justbefore you go to bed every night.Flossing at night will ensure that

food doesn't sit in between yourteeth cause harmful bacteriafrom developing. Fill up your pre-scriptions at the starting of themonth: Make a note of all theprescriptions, vitamins and otherhealth supplements that youtake daily, and stock up at thebeginning of every month. Thiswill help you ensure that youtake your supplements and med-ication daily without any breaksdue to poor planning. Routinepower naps in the day: Studiessuggest that power naps

improve concentration levelsand maintain high energy levelsthrough the day. Take a quicknap at your desk, if you canmanage it, or ensure that youlearn the fine art of dosing withyour back flat against your workchair, for a few minutes to de-stress.Improve your concentration

levels by playing crosswords inthe morning: Morning is the timewhen we are maximally alert. Tryand play a crossword or aSudoku game or try and learn a

new language on net right in themorning when your mind is at itsactive best.Addicted to sports drinks and

caffeine? Brush at regular inter-vals: Sports drinks and caffeinat-ed beverages can easily erodeyour teeth as they are high inacidic pH levels. So, do try andbrush your teeth within an houror two of downing these drinks. Ifyou can't afford brushing, try anddrink two cups of water after acup of coffee or a glass of thatsports drink.

In Galsworthy's ForsyteSaga, Soames, the richand acquisitive Man of

Property, is enthralled bythe beautiful Irene.He wants to possess her

beauty, the way he possess-es the grand mansion hebuys for her, full of exquisiteand expensive works of art.But the harder Soames triesto claim her as his own, themore he repels Irene. Theonly man she is comfortablewith is the elderly Jolyon.While conscious of herbeauty, the ageing Jolyonhas no desire to possess it.In the twilight of his life, hebasks in her radiance as aman warming himself infront of the glowing embersof a fire on a cold day.Soames and Jolyon repre-sent two very different per-ceptions, not only of beauty

but of consciousness itself.Like most of us, Soameswants to lay claim to thebeautiful – which is anotherword for perfection – andmake it his own. In his case,the beautiful, or the perfect,is represented by a woman.In the case of a poet or anartist, the beautiful could berepresented by the music oflanguage or the splendourof a sunrise which the cre-ative imagination seeks tocapture in a line of verse orby brush strokes on canvas.But beauty can't be

owned by an individual: thepoet and the artist know thatwhat they create is of valueonly if it belongs to thewhole world and not tothemselves alone. UnlikeSoames, the Man ofProperty, Jolyon, like thepoet and artist, understands

that beauty can never be apossession; it is always andessentially a celebration, aglimpse of perfection all themore haunting in its elusive-ness. As William Blake said:"He who bends to himself ajoy/ Does the winged lifedestroy;/ But he who kissesthe joy as it flies/ Lives ineternity's sunrise." Soameswants to possess Irene'sbeauty, and is doomed tofail; Jolyon celebrates herbeauty and is rewarded by

the glow of her presence.These two ways of perceiv-ing beauty belong to twodistinct categories of con-sciousness: being and hav-ing.Being is consciousness

without the attached stringsof attachment and ego.Being is a way of seeing theworld, and everything in it,through the consciousnessof a poet, or an artist, or asage. Being has no titledeed, no desire of posses-

sion, no stampof ownership.The polar

opposite of beingis consciousnessin the mode ofhaving.

WWhheenn ttoo--ddoo hheeaalltthh gguuiiddee

TTRRUUEE BBEEAAUUTTYYOOFF BBEEIINNGG

FFIISSHH PPEEDDIICCUURREE SSPPRREEAADDSS

IINNFFEECCTTIIOONNDDIISSEEAASSEE

The latest beauty craze—fish pedicures—offered

in salons and spas across theworld have raised serious

health concerns.British experts are worried

that the trend that is sweep-ing the country could spread

infection and disease,reports the Daily Mail.The Health Protection

Agency is investigating afterthe treatment was banned

by 14 American states.The treatment, which costsbetween 10 and 50 pounds,involves customers dunkingtheir feet in tanks to have

their dead skin nibbled awayby scores of Turkish minia-

ture toothless carp.But it has been revealed thepedicures using the garra

rufa fish could spread infec-tion from person to person

through open wounds.Salons said they use UV-littanks, which are constantlyfiltered to keep them clear ofdisease. But the therapy'sopponents said that unlikeusual salon rules, which

compel staff to throw awayor sanitise tools after eachuse, the epidermis-eating

fish are too expensive to dis-card. The agency began

investigating after being con-tacted by environmental

health officers. "The HPA willexamine the most up-to-date

evidence of any possiblerisks associated with garrarufa fish pedicures," said an

agency spokesman.

Anew research hasdescribed old-school bev-

erages—tea, coffee and lowfat or chocolate milk—as thebest elixirs for nutrition,health and workout recovery.Research indicates that tea

strengthens the body'simmune system, reducesbuildup of plaque on arterialwalls, and aids in the controland prevention of diabetes.Tea is an antioxidant-rich

beverage containing morepolyphenols than many fruitsand vegetables, according to

the study.Besides being rich in com-

pounds that combat cell-dam-aging oxidative stress, tea hasa chemical makeup thatincludes enzymes, carbohy-drates, protein, and lipids.Oxidative stress is a molec-

ular imbalance that interfereswith the body's ability todetoxify harmful compoundsleading to cellular damage andis associated with chronichealth problems such asatherosclerosis, diabetes,dementia, and even cancer.

Packed with compoundsthat protect cells from oxida-tive stress, tea has emergedas a natural dietary aid tolower the risk of these ail-ments.Like tea, coffee is packed

with polyphenols, and it actu-ally has a higher content ofantioxidants than green orblack tea and other beveragessuch as fruit and vegetablesjuices.Researchers suggested that

coffee consumption can lowercardiovascular risks as well as

lower the risk of developingtype 2 diabetes by up to 50per cent.Coffee also appears to

have a positive effect on neu-rological diseases with coffeeconsumption possibly reducingthe risk of both Parkinson'sdisease and Alzheimer's dis-ease.The findings also detail the

benefits of whole, low-fat, andchocolate milk when it comesto overall nutrition, bone den-sity, weight loss, muscle-build-ing and more.

TTEEAA,, CCOOFFFFEEEE,, MMIILLKK BBEESSTT HHEEAALLTTHHYY BBEEVVEERRAAGGEESS

INTERFAITH12 �� May, 2011

(Emcee AtharSiddiqee introducing the four panelists Michael Wolfe, Sally Mahe, Dr. ShaikhKabir Helminski and Paul George at the 30th UMA Annual Dinner)

Message from UMA-president Shafi Refai

Some people in America have made it their fulltime business to demonize Islam and Muslimsafter 9/11/01. They present Islam as a man-madeviolent ideology rather than a revealed religionwith an impressive history of 14 centuries. Thecurrent radicalism and upheaval in the Muslimworld is the result of the geopolitical conditions,

brilliantly portrayed by Graham Fuller, Former Vice Chairman ofIntelligence Council of CIA, in his book: A World without Islam.American Muslims have to build alliances with the American peo-ple of all faiths to work with them to fight the rising Islamophobia.

Salley Mahe, URI DirectorIt is a pleasure to speak to

this UMA gathering. I amhappy because by being hereI am able to return in a verysmall measure, countlessacts of thoughtfulness andsignificant cross-religionbridge-building which IftekarHai, Waheed Siddique andother members of UMA haveprovided over the years tome and my organization, theUnited Religions Initiative.I was relieved to read that

this evening was to focus onconversation aboutIslamophobia and that no onewas expected to come to thischallenging topic as anexpert. I am no expert. Formy part, I want to take refugein the words of EleanorRoosevelt, who said,

"Where, after all, do uni-versal human rights begin? Insmall places, close to home -so close and so small thatthey cannot be seen on anymaps of the world. Yet theyare the world of the individu-al person; the neighborhoodhe and she live in; the schoolor college he attends; …[the]office where she works. Suchare the places where everyman, woman, and child seeksequal justice, equal opportu-nity, equal dignity without dis-crimination.”Muslims and non-Muslim

ask, how do we enter into thisuncomfortable climate of fear,misinformation and preju-dice? We may not like it butfor a time Islamophobia ishere with us. I am glad that

professionals from differentsectors - scholars, theolo-gians, historians, pollsters,journalists, social scientists -are staying up late, contribut-ing perspectives and study-ing root causes, demograph-ics, religious origins, impact,etc. We need the best andthe brightest to bring forwardinformation and open up con-versation and perspectives.

But I want to focus on thesignificance of our own expe-riences - what we think anddo in “small places close tohome.” A man namedMarcus Braybrooke, an earlypioneer in interfaith work,said that when we speak ofpeople’s faith and enter intosharing practices together,we must remember to take offour shoes, because we areentering upon holy ground.Likewise, I think this topicIslamophobia - an irrationalfear of Islam, Muslim people,- especially the question:why people have fear, how itgets stirred up, and how itcan be stopped - need to beentered into with shoes offtoo – not just as a subject forhead and analysis but a placethat requires deeper levels ofinner work, deep learning,openness, and forgiveness. Irealize that this is why mystory is valuable to this con-versation.

I want to offer a few per-sonal experiences.

“Profound Ignorance” –The event was the annualdinner of United Muslims ofAmerica. The year was 1997.

I had just started doing inter-faith work. Iftekhar invited meand other URI staff to attendthis dinner. I found myselfdriving here alone fromOakland. Other staff couldn’tattend. I was recentlydivorced, so I had no hus-band to accompany me. Mymemory is that I was reallyafraid. I had stereotypeimages (from who knowswhere) in my head…would Ibe welcome as a Christian?Would I feel uncomfortablebeing alone? Would it be

dangerous? I’m embar-rassed now to admit – howstupidly ignorant I was then. Isimply didn’t know any better.Of course, when I arrived, Iwas warmly greeted and gra-ciously ushered to sit withwomen whom I found to bedelightful in every way andvery much like me!I start with this personal

anecdote because prejudice

from ignorance is real - thereare people in the grip ofIslamophobia that are asignorant now as I was then.Colossal ignorance is dan-gerous… but curable.

The Choice – The secondstory comes in 2001 a fewmonths after 9.11. My daugh-ter Lizzie, who had beenteaching at St. Michael’s--aninternational school in Kobe,Japan-- called me to say shewas considering converting toIslam. She said she had metwomen at the mosque nearby

her home whom sheadmired. She found answersto deep questions about howshe could live a life of faith. Ofcourse, I was shocked… andstunned… Her timing wasterrible – with the US begin-ning to bomb Afghanistan! Itried to convince her to post-pone her decision by sayingshe should think of conver-sion like a marriage, a core

lifelong commitment and onethat needs time and consider-ation. I suggested a year ofengagement. Respectfullyshe thanked me for myadvice. In three days shecalled me back and said, "Iconverted." Shortly after thatwhen we were together cele-brating a special Christmasholiday. We shared a hotelroom. When I awoke in themorning, there was Lizziecovered from head to foot inher prayer garment, kneelingon the floor at the side of mybed praying. The reality shotthrough me. In an instant Isaw the young woman whowas no longer the daughter Ithought I knew. She wasdressed in a garment thatlooked strange. She hadtaken a path that I felt wouldseparate her from me and ourfamily. Islam was comingunder attack around theworld. Would she be safe? Iwas afraid...for her and forme. At the same moment, Isaw her serenity. I had achoice in that split sec-ond…without thinking, I bentover and kissed her on theforehead. The choice hap-pened, I’m still not sure how –to accept her in that momentand all that would flow from it.

I offer this story –because it shows how centralprivate choices are. Perhapsour choices are not always asdramatic as this one, butwhen we are challenged withan unknown or a prejudice -do we react with fear… Or, dowe choose to respond with

trust. When we hear storiesof prejudice and hostility, dowe choose to repeat thosenegative stories more thanstories of positive encoun-ters?

The third story is aboutmy work with the UnitedReligions Initiative. Anotherstaff member and I wereinspired by the Tool Kit thatCAIR (Council on AmericaIslamic Relations) put out forthe Muslim community tohelp people respond to fearsstirred up last year by theminister who threatened toburn the Koran. CAIR’s ToolKit was for the MuslimCommunity and our Tool Kitwas for non Muslim commu-nities. We focused on whatmight be considered “smallacts” for individuals orgroups. Send a card or flow-ers with a message of sup-port to a neighborhoodmosque, ask one’s own reli-gious leader to speak outagainst Islamophobia duringtimes when fears are stirredup; organize 9. conversations where

people share positiveencounters and stories ofrespect and friendship. Wehave Tool Kit cards on theback table and you can get acopy of the entire Tool Kitfrom URI’s website.www.uri.org It is a time, withthousands of people all overthe world, to reach out tomeet ugly and uncomfortableexperiences with positiveactions that weave a strongerfabric of community.

The concluding panelistPaul George made equallyremarkable statements. In hisbold analysis, Paul pointed outthat after fall of Russia therewas no communistenemy tofight against hence need fornewenemy. The new crusade,Paul argued, was GeorgeBush’s “Attack on global ter-ror” that targeted Muslimcountries.It is obvious that fallouts

from the crusade would comein the form Islamophobia asMuslims around the world feltoffended in several differentways the Danish Cartoonist,the consistent bombardmentof select Muslim countries, thethreat to publicly burn the HolyQuran, the ban on Burqah, the

Peter King Congressionalhearing on Islam and calls forban on Sharia Law. None ofthese have been prompted byMuslim acts.The Middle Eastern

Muslims have been wearingHijab and Burqah for ages andhave been traveling aroundthe world without threat ofintrusion into their privacy. TheWar on Terror campaign hasadversely affected importantMuslim culture.

“Profound ignorance! Colossal! Three days later she (my daughter) called me and said,” I converted.”

BEST UMA CONVENTION IN YEARS 30 Annual Convention of United Muslims of America held atCHANDNI RESTAURANT By Editor, Dr. H.Koya

After Russian fall “the war on global ter-ror: Islam a new enemy”: Paul George

INTERFAITH IN GALLERY 13�� May, 2011

It’s never been simple ortrouble-free to be a Muslim inAmerica. What we’re callingIslamophobia today is nothingnew.

But a person would haveto be tone deaf not to knowthat in the last year, a rhetoricthat was previously extreme isnow trying to get itself normal-ized—in the blogosphere, inthe print media, on TV andradio, and finally at the votingbooth.

This push to normalizeextreme language againstIslam began around 9/11 withthe so-called Ground ZeroMosque controversy; it contin-ued with the rfeesboromosque protests, and laterwith demonstrations aroundthe country that try to tie Islamwith not being American.

A year ago, we saw a dif-ferent racial argument beingmade, focused on the Latinocommunity in Arizona. That iswhere the language was firstforged that is now beingtrained on Muslims and Islamin the U.S. In each case, it hasto do with waving the flag andcoordinating a voter basearound an immigration ques-tion, invoking the politics ofparanoia.

It is a voter base manypoliticians are stooping toappeal to. A recent Gallup pollhas shown that those whoembrace Islamophobia arealso anti-Semitic. It’s a basethat can’t get adjusted to con-temporary society, a base ofinsular-thinking people whofeel threatened by 21stcenturyglobalism.

People who claim theywant Islam excluded fromAmerican society cite pas-sages from the Quran thatadvocate violence. They try tomake people think that“Because one line of theQuran says this _____, allMuslims are compelled tobelieve and act on it withoutexception.”

The equivalent would be toclaim that Jews stone disobe-dient sons to death because itsays they should in

Deuteronomy (21:18- 21). Orthat Christians slay all non-Christians because it saysthey must in Luke (19:27).

Or they hold Muslims hereresponsible for the acts of ter-rorists or Jihadists ten thou-sand miles away. “Look whatthey do in Waziristan. They’reall that way.”

In this context, our weakestlinks are the few, confusedyoung would-be Jihadists inour midst. We need to talkmore plainly with them. Thebest allegiance, the best soli-darity is with our principles.The hare-brained violentbehavior exhibited here fromtime to time has no place inour community. Nor is it limitedto our community. Everygroup has this, including thevery people who would like tostigmatize Muslims andIslam—as we saw with therecent shooting of an electedrepresentative in Arizona.

Several politicians are cur-rently conflating Shariah withTerrorism, and bills are up forvotes in several state housesto, as they say, “ban Shariah,”as if rather than being a refer-ence point for a Muslim’s per-sonal conduct, Shariah were abody of foreign law seekingsomehow to impose itself onthe life of a pluralistic society.

In Arizona, they are alsohoping to ban “karma.” That’show the law is written… Idoubt they’ll succeed on thatone. To paraphrase SarahPalin’s tagline, “So, how’s thatban on karma workin for ya?”

:>)These are the rhetorical

tricks of politicians manufac-turing falsehoods masquerad-ing as truth to get cheapvotes.

slamophobia: I’m not surewe spell it right. Maybe weshould spell it OBAMAPHO-BIA. Because, concerning therecent escalation of the attackagainst Islam and Muslims inthe USA, this is all about apresidential election.

Given what manyAmericans are shown aboutIslam and Muslims on TV, it’sa wonder every one of themdoesn’t think Islam is a third-rate religion of people whowant to conquer America thefirst chance they get.

What can Muslims doabout this? Two things:

Demonstrate proactivelythat Muslim Americans are nota 5th column in modern soci-ety. Let people understandthat Muslim values are humanvalues, that the values ofTahrir square resonate withAmerican values—freedom ofspeech, representative gov-

ernment, protecting the rightsof other religions, treating reli-gion as a personal choice nota political position.

And second: Don’t getdefensive. Don’t evenrespond if you can help it. Theframing of the “question”ensures you’re going to haveto fight uphill. Instead of argu-ing back self-defensively,Muslims should concentrateon activating their OWN baseof ‘mainstream’ Americanswho already have good work-ing, friendly relationships withMuslims. Form alliances.Develop allies. Let othersspeak for how authentic youare. It’s much more credible.

Dialogue is the bestmedicine for this illness. On9/12 /11, we showed a film atthe so-called “Ground Zeromosque” and most of the peo-ple who attended were main-stream New Yorkers whocame, watched, sat on thefloor, shared food and talked.That one event resulted in adozen more similar eventsaround Manhattan in the nexttwo weeks. The events goon… The word “dialogue”reminds me of somethingTariq Ramadan said last weekwhen he spoke at Stanford:When “Let’s have a dialogue”really means “Listen to me,”you don’t have a dialogue.You have an interactive mono-logue.

DIALOGUE REQUIRESRESPECT. When we stand onour principles and judge peo-ple by their own group’s worst

practices, that’s not respectful.Judging from the top of ourgroup’s theoretical perfor-mance down to the bottom ofanother group’s worst exam-ples is an unfair judgment. Itgoes nowhere. We need totalk on common ground.Talking from the edges of ourdifferences is guaranteed notto go very far. It’s only skindeep. The real commonground we all share is thebase note of existence: ourmortality, our fragility, our com-plex identities, and our flaws—which demand compassionand understanding, accep-tance and forgiveness. Thedeeper the level you share on,the more a person can knowthat you’re alive. “Show mewhat you love, and show mehow you suffer: That’s how toshow me who you are.”

Again, the best allegiance,the best solidarity is with ourprinciples. Be ready to opposeoppression when it comesfrom our own community too,not just when it comes fromanother community thatthreatens our comfort. Wehave to be vigilant againstpeople in our own house whoseem to be like us but actuallyrepresent the forces of chaos.We have to step out of ourcomfort zone…

Muslims in times like thesecould try to remember thestory of Hamza, coming homefrom another day of huntingand passing by the townsquare where he sees a per-son being humiliated for his

beliefs. Hamza, a respectablemember of his community,does an extraordinary thing:he joins the person beinghumiliated.

Muslims need to find the ofAmerican society, the peoplewho understand that if aMuslim’s religious and civilrights are compromised, thentheir own rights aren’t safeeither. That we don’t have toagree in order to respect otherpeople’s right to believe asthey do.

What we expect for our-selves we have to extend toothers. Allies are drawn tothose who set an unshakeableexample in adverse times.The best prescription againstIslamophobia is to forge allies.Finding allies, forging newalliances, and most importantgetting your allies to speak upfor you in public. Here’s aFacebook page we’ve just putup for you to use:

The operating instructions,for Muslims to pass on tomainstream neighbors, aresimple: "62% of Americanshave never met a Muslim. Doyou know a Muslim? Shareyour story through YouTubeon this page. "

The idea is for mainstreamAmericans to post a collectionof short personal videos talk-ing about their friendships withindividual Muslims. We're hop-ing it will find many fans by9/11/2011.

Watch a few of the volun-teered videos and you'll seethe idea. If you know of indi-viduals who would want toturn their cell phone or com-puter into a camera andupload a personal video,encourage them. Encouragethem. The more authentic,honest, genuine the briefpiece is, the best. Let meleave you with two bits of wis-dom from rural Morocco:

1. Don’t put too much faithin politicians. “Politicians weepwith the shepherd and dinewith the jackal.”

2. “The camel doesn’t seehis hump; he sees the humpof his brother.”

“Islamophobia is all about presidential election,” Michael Wolfe

Dr. Shaikh Kabir HelminskiArenowned Sufi, scholar, writerand poet Dr. Shaikh KabirHelminski zeroed in on insideMuslim world for reformation andclarification directing the focus toresponding with “good for evil doneto them.”

Dr. Shaikh Kabir Helminski’stake “ Repel evil with good deeds –Aserious house clarification need-ed” The approach suggested byDr. Shaikh Kabir Helminski to dealwith whenMuslims are faced withadverse situation is most ideaIslamic and spiritual path. Dr.Helminski quite rightly pointed outas he opened his presentationthatMuslims are enjoined to “repel evil

with good deeds.” Calling onMuslims to do “serious house clar-ification,” Dr. Kabir Helminski said

that among things that gaveMuslims grounds foradversity isPakistan’s Blasphemy Law. Dr.

Helminski was the only panelistwho openly mentioned theimpactof the evil law which has in

recent months given bad nameboth toPakistan and Muslims allover the world.

“Muslims Need Serious House Clarification! Unwarranted and blatant violations!”

14 �� May, 2011

15�� May, 2011

16 �� May, 2011 17�� May, 2011

18 �� May, 2011 BOLLYWOOD

Determined to break the cliches of asmall-town cop, Tigmanshu Dhuliais giving Arjun Rampal time to

essay the real-life character based in JaiRamji The man is incredible. He is notonly a super capable police officer butalso a connoisseur of French wines andHindustani classical music. He can nab acriminal as swiftly as he can identify athumri or dadra," describes neo-realistdirector Tigmanshu Dhulia about the real-life cop from Allahabad, who is the subjectof his film Jai Ramji. Arjun Rampal, whowill essay the character, is heading toAllahabad next month to meet the subjectof the film. Dhulia is adamant that Rampal

take time to understand the real-life copbecause he wants to break the stereo-typical depiction of a small-time boorishcop with his khaki shirt open to his navaland his gun half out of his holster. AsDhulia explains, "Why must we alwayspresume that small-town cops from NorthIndia are like Chulbul Pandey? I know somany civil servants in UP who are suave,worldly, wise, literate and erudite. Arun'scharacter of the cop is as much into aes-thetics and arts as he is into nabbinghardcore criminals. I want him to spend atleast two weeks in preparation. I don't want him to just wear khaki andbehave like a filmi cop."

KKaappoooorr''ssffaammiillyy ddaayy oouutt The Kapoor family including Rishi Kapoor,

Randhir Kapoor, Krishna Kapoor and RituNanda were seen in what can only be

described as a rare photo op in Delhi recently.The family with a rich Bollywood legacy, thatgoes without saying, stepped out for a family gettogether to a Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaonand were in quite an upbeat mood as they dis-cussed topics ranging from cricket to new littleadditions in their family. Rishi, who was in Delhias his daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni recentlywas blessed with a baby girl, said, "Neetu couldnot be here with us right now as she's withRiddhima and the baby. You now, it feels greatto be a grandfather... a great feeling." Riddhimahas named her daughter Samara. The otherKapoors were excited as well, probably becausethis is the second baby in the family this yearafter Randhir's daughter and actress KarismaKapur gave birth to baby boy Kiaan last year.Said Ritu Nanda, "Rishi's granddaughter,Samara brought us all here. It is certainly greatto have an addition in the family." Rishi, on theother hand, preferred to talk about cricket andsaid, "I can already foresee the cricket future.India has already won the World Cup for me."

Farah Khan and therecord label T-Serieshave learnt that at least

50 Indian and 10 internation-al DJs have illegally remixedthe Sheila Ki Jawaani songand released it on the net astheir own composition. Aspecial case among them allis international DJ NYK, whohas even made a video ofthe remixed version anduploaded it on his officialwebsite. This comes afterinternational artisteTimbaland ripped offAradhana's hit track BaagonMein Bahaar Hai for one ofhis singers in the US. NowFarah and Bhushan Kumarplan to take legal action asthey have lost Rs 60-70lakh, which they would havecharged for remix rights. Therecord label's spokespersonsays, "We have lost lakhshere. Almost all DJs in Indiaremix songs, but they mostlyplay them at night clubs anddon't release it. However inthis case, they are also

claiming that it is an exclu-sive remix of the original.We need a watchdog to lookout for such copycats. Howcan one filmmaker or recordlabel keep tab on so manythings?" Farah adds, "Wehaven't given any rights andthese DJs have been rippingoff my song. It is a seriouscrime. Though at one levelI'm flattered that so manypeople have made theseremixes, I have to takeaction. We need to threatenpeople with dire conse-quences or else they won'tstop ripping off songs." It'sSheila vs Munni here too IfSheila Ki Jawaani is a hotfavourite for illegal releases,Munni Badnaam Hui is nottoo far behind. MalaikaArora Khan's sexy numberhas been illegally remixedby 34 DJs, but it has yet notbeen released as his/heroriginal piece of work. Thus,the loss margin is muchlesser. It is an estimated Rs20 lakh, analysts say.

Actress Sonakshi Sinha wants to provethat she is truly Dabangg when itcomes to her professional career.

Brushing aside the rumours that she wantsto refrain from doing item numbers, theactress came out saying that she is notscared of doing them. The 23-year-old, whohas shown her dancing expertise on stageat various award shows earlier this year,revealed that she has no problems in joiningthe lines of Katrina Kaif, Malaika Arora Khanand Mallika Sherawat by doing an itemnumber, but she has to be comfortable indoing so. "I’m not scared of doing item num-bers. For me, when I did stage shows, I waswearing what I was comfortable in and themoves that I was doing were also what Iwas comfortable doing. So all depends oncomfort. If what is offered to me, I’m com-fortable doing that, then I mightSonakshijust take it up. I’m not averse to it,"Sonakshi told reporters here. Sonakshi, thedaughter of veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha,has laid down various rules for herself. Shehas been maintaining that she won’t bedoing any kissing scenes in films and alsowon’t sport a bikini on screen ever. Yet the budding actress has been gettingplump Bollywood offers. After her debutfilm Dabangg with Salman Khan, theactress will be seen in Joker with AkshayKumar and is also a part of Race 2. At anevent Tuesday, she was also named asthe brand ambassador of fashion brandProvogue, that has had actors like HrithikRoshan, Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham,Fardeen Khan and Katrina Kaif endorsingit in the past. "I’m very happy to be asso-ciated with Provogue. I think they’ve seenhow my career is shaping up and theythink that I’m able to contribute to theirbrand in some way as a brand ambas-sador. So very happy about this associa-tion and hopefully it will be a long andfruitful one for both of us," said Sonakshi.

II''MM NNOOTTAAVVEERRSSEE TTOO

IITTEEMM NNUUMMBBEERRSS

SSoonnaakksshhii

SShheeiillaa vvss MMuunnnniiPPaarrtt 22

Actor Kangna Ranuat, who recently made head-lines, for her refusal to wear a bikini in DavidDhawan's Rascals, says it was nothing but a

rumour. She says, “That is not true at all and only arumour. Only 10 per cent what is written about me istrue. There is no bikini in Rascals. Not yet. If Davidfinds curiosity for bikini and wants to put it, then it is adifferent story.” The 24-year-old actor who recentlyimpressed audience with her comic antics in TanuWeds Manu, has played the role of a cop in her justreleased film Game which also stars AbhishekBachchan. When asked about her character, Ranaut,who was recently in the capital for her film’s promotionseemed visibly excited and said, “I play the characterof a detective cop called Sia Agnihotri. My role wasinitially written keeping a guy in mind but then themakers felt that it would be better if a woman por-trayed it. It was challenging to come into a hero’sshoes.”\ Kangna has numerous big films in her kittyincluding Rascals, Happy New Year and DoubleDhamaal. Is it a conscious descision to do comedies?“It is not a conscious decision, I have to choose fromoptions I get. Sometimes, people get carried awayand want to encash on the success of Tanu WedsManu where I did a light role,” she said.

TThheerree’’ss nnoo bbiikkiinnii iinn RRaassccaallssKKaannggnnaa

AArrjjuunnRRaammppaall ttoo ccooppyyCChhuullbbuullPPaannddeeyy''ss

ssttyyllee

BOLLYWOOD 19�� May, 2011

Cast: Tusshar Kapoor, Radhika Apte, Nikhil Dwivedi,Pitobash Tripathi, Senthil Ramamurthy, Zakir HussainDirection: Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DKGenre: DramaDuration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Story: Tusshar Kapoor, Nikhil Dwivedi and PitobashTripathi are three typical wasters who throng thestreets of Mumbai, looking for a high adrenalin fix.They steal a bag from a local train, just for kicks, andfind it to be full of guns in all shapes and sizes. Nextstop: find suitable customers for their unusual loot. Addto this a wannabe cricketer who must find some bigmoney to bribe his way into the Indian team and anNRI (Senthil Ramamurthy) who wants to set up hisbusiness in India, without paying the requisite securityto the local mafia (Zakir Hussain) and you have a siz-zling kaleidoscope on chaotic Mumbai.

Movie Review: Shor in the City may be another dekkoat merry, murky, mad city Mumbai but not once do youget a sense of deja vu. And that's because this one's acompletely quirky cameo on a city that continues tohypnotize people with its chameleon hues. The filmposits the metropolis as a character in the film. Onethat is as jagged, enigmatic and hysterical as the liv-ing-breathing protagonists of the film. And yet, despitethe hurtling-towards-doom scenario, there is an under-current of hope and innocence which seems to springfrom the most unusual places. Like Tusshar Kapoor'scharacter and the diehard aspiring young cricketer'szeal...The threesome of Tusshar, Nikhil and Pitobash formthe central core of the film. It's a tangy desi ReservoirDog's combo, with Nikhil Dwivedi and PitobashTripathi providing the edge and Tusshar pitching in theequipoise. His discovery of Paulo Coelho and hisuplifting psy-co-low-gee, as he tries to read TheAlchemist, dictionary in hand, is so very funny andfunky. All this, while he is also trying to discover thesensual charms of his newly-wedded wife, RadhikaApte, and his friends are trying to distract him with theirtreasure of AK-47s and 56s.Senthil Ramamurthy's track is equally spicy too, spe-cially his encounters with gangster Zakir Hussain whocan't understand why the oaf can't understand thepetty gangster's code that rules Mumbai. Not even,when it's a matter of life and death.With a zany screenplay (Raj Nidimoru and KrishnaDK), excellent cinematography by Tushar Kanti Rayand peppy music by Sachin-Jigar, Shor in the City isanother breaking-norm film from Ekta Kapoor (produc-er) after Love Sex aur Dhokha and Once Upon A Timein Mumbaai. Don't miss this black comedy that hasheart and soul.

Katrina Kaif seems to bein no mood to have anysort of association withSonakshi Sinha. TOI brokethe story of the the Dabanggactress messaging Kat toclear the air between them.However the senioractress refused to acknowl-edge the message or evenreply. It has now been fif-teen days since well, Sonaoffered the Rajneeti star, anolive branch. And therehasn't been any responsefrom the other side. It is aclear indication that the waris on and Kat isn't in themood to wave the whiteflag. Meanwhile,a n o t h e r

instance has angered Katagain. A report said thatSona has beaten Kat,Kareena, Aishwarya RaiBachchan and PriyankaChopra in a popularity polland the industry is wonder-ing which poll is this thatSona has won given she isjust one film old. Looks likeSalman Khan's find is cre-ating a circle of enemiesaround her. Watch outbabe! Even Sallu won't beable to save you from theseactresses.

KKAATTRRIINNAA,, SSOONNAAKKSSHHIISSTTIILLLL AATT WWAARR

Aamir did it for Ghajini, JohnAbraham for khakha khakharemake and now Hrithik is doing it

for his much awaited Agneepath remake,a film produced by Karan Johar.We've heard the actor has added newequipments in his inhouse gym too andis working out for not less than 3 hours aday!

Hrithik's trainer Satya, who has workedwith Aamir on Ghajini has revealed howthe actor needs to gain 14 kgs for hisrole in Agneepath remake.The actor who weighs 70, needs toweigh 84!Both Priyanka and Hrithik have kept theirlooks for the film hidden by not postingtheir pictures on networking sites in spite

of their fans insisting on it.Priyanka said, "I am shooting forAgneepath but cannot put up the pics aswe have different looks and cannotreveal it as yet."John Abraham on the contrary has beenasked to lose weight for Dostana sequel!Seems like everyone's taking perfectionto another level in Bollywood!

GETTING BIGGER THAN HRITHIK'S JOHN!

SSHHOORR IINN TTHHEE CCIITTYY

20 �� May, 2011

WORLD NEWS 21�� May, 2011

WASHINGTON: Kiran Pasricha came toWashington DC on a posting as representa-tive of the Confederation of Indian Industries(CII) the same year as your correspondentarrived here. It was 1994 and India was justa blip on the American radar. Typically thosedays, a US posting was seen as a sinecure,the icing on a long career to enable therecipient to build a nest egg before retire-ment. But we were both young profession-als, barely in our 30s, and before long werealized, forget retirement plans, we wereworking like galley slaves on what wouldturn out to be the ride of our lives on the US-India boat.When we arrived here, the internet was

still in its infancy. The standard mode ofcommunication those days was the phoneand fax. If you haven't heard the groan of adocument going through the fax machineand climactic beep to signal it had beenreceived at the other end, you don't knowtorture and reward. Then came dial-up inter-net -- its modem squeaking, hissing,whooshing and gurgling -- and more tor-ment. The term outsourcing was not currentalthough GE, AmEx, H-P and few others hadbegun operations in India in the 1980s. Thecell phone, born in 1973, still belonged toultra-elites and uber-geeks.Tech challenges were least of our prob-

lems. The biggest issue was access. It washard to get attention, forget face time, withadministration officials, lawmakers, and bigbusiness. Bill Clinton was midway into hisfirst term and was caught up in domesticissues (in more than one sense). A visit toUS by the Indian Prime Minister NarasimhaRao went virtually unreported in the

American media. Kiran recalls phoning theoffice of an administration official and havingthe "who-shall-I-say-is-calling" assistantpatch through "Karen from CIA."CII and its affiliates Indian companies

were marginal. Ta-ta was a way to say good-bye, and Mittals and Jindals were mostlyunknown outside India. US-India trade wasmeasured in millions, not billions. TheEnron-Dhabol project was a nightmare inthe making. Indian lobbying, or what passedfor it, was highly personalized and spas-modic. Forget Indian industry, even NewDelhi was a reluctant lobbyist, with just oneNehru-Gandhi family friend named JanakiGanju doing all the spade work. Bill Clintontried to get things going in his second termstarting 1996. But each time there was a bitof momentum the government in India would

fall. Then came the low point in the relation-ship. India went overtly nuclear in May 1998.Washington exploded. "Why don't you justshut down your office and go home?" Kiranrecalls one executive telling her. Indianswere persona non-grata, although friendsjoked about my becoming "PersonaRajghatta" because TV channels sought outanyone who could explain what India haddone. We learned two lessons from theepisode: The value of being upfront withAmericans, and laying it out in simple,sound-bite terms. "If Canada and Mexicowere malevolent neighbors with nukes,would you Americans be sitting on yourbutt?" did more than lengthy editorials. Fromadversity came opportunity. We thoughtKargil would doom us (travel advisories pre-suming the direst scenarios) but Washington

made a fair call (backing India). The dangerpassed, as did Pakistan, and Clinton, look-ing for a nice finale to his two terms and away to patch up with a country he reallyliked, embarked on a historic India visit.It was the first of three presidential visits

in the last decade, each more successfulthan the previous, each driving US-India tiesto new levels, and in each of which Kiranwas a livewire on the business side ofthings. She lived through the worst (nuketest) and the best (nuke deal). Asked torecall a standout moment, she recalledHillary Clinton, then a New York Senator,accompanying an Indian business delega-tion on a road trip for two days -- includingstaying overnight with them at a $ 50-a-nightmotel. At fond farewells last week, theycame to say goodbye to "Karen from CIA" -- administration officials who hadn't returnedher calls, corporate honchos who she hadwrangled with, lawmakers she had bad-gered. When she first came here, therewere maybe a dozen Indian-Americanstaffers on the Hill. Now there were a dozensenior administration officials of Indian ori-gin, including Suresh Kumar, Obama'sAssistant Secretary of Commerce. Ray Vickery, Kumar's predecessor many

times removed (under Clinton) was movedenough to recite indecipherable Urdu poetryas he wished her Godspeed. OthersAmericans plied her with "Namaste" and "Dhanyavad," although she jokinglypleaded for a Single Malt to overcome theuprush of emotion -- both a sign of the dis-tance the two people and countries have tra-versed. It will be a road much traveled in theyears to come.

Goodbye to "Karen from CIA"

12-year-old suicidebomber kills fourin Afghanistan

KABUL: A 12-year-old suicidebomber killed four people and wound-ed a dozen in eastern Afghanistantoday, officials said. The boy - thoughtto be one of the country's youngest-ever suicide attackers - detonated avest packed with explosives in a mar-ketplace in Paktika province, on theborder with Pakistan, provincialspokesman Mukhlis Afghan said in astatement. "The head of Shkin districtcouncil, Shair Nawaz, a woman andtwo other men were killed and 12 oth-ers were wounded," the statementsaid. The Afghan interior ministry hadearlier put the death toll at three, with11 wounded. Civilians are increasing-ly getting caught up in the violencethat has blighted Afghanistan since aUS-led invasion in 2001 ousted theTaliban, triggering an insurgencywhose intensity has increased inrecent years.

Israel mourns 6 million JewishHolocaust victims of World War IIJERUSALEM: Israel's PM

warned that the nation must not dis-miss Iran's threats to its existence,drawing a parallel at a ceremony inmemory of the 6 million Jewish vic-tims of the Nazi Holocaust of WorldWar II, a mass murder that stillreverberates in the Jewish statemore than six decades later. Iranand its allies, Hamas in Gaza andHezbollah in Lebanon, openly callfor the destruction of Israel, saidPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuyesterday, and "Iran is even armingitself with nuclear weapons toaccomplish that goal." He said themost important lesson of theHolocaust for the Jewish people is,"if someone threatens to destroy us,we must not ignore their threats."Netanyahu addressed a crowd ofhundreds of Holocaust survivors,diplomats and Israeli leaders at Yad

Vashem, Israel's official Holocaustmemorial center. "The threat againstour existence and our future is nottheoretical," he said. "It must bestopped." Iran denies it is makingnuclear weapons. For years Israel has called for

world action to stop the Iraniannuclear program, backing diplomaticefforts and sanctions but never tak-ing the option of a military strike offthe table. At the memorial ceremony,six Holocaust survivors lit symbolictorches to mark the beginning of theannual observance. At midmorningon Sunday, air raid sirens were tosound around the country to marktwo minutes of silence in honour ofthe victims, followed by ceremoniescalled "Each Person Has a Name,"in which people read out the namesof victims at Israel's parliament andother public locations.

TORONTO: With main three national parties puttingup 23 Indo-Canadian candidates for the May 2 generalelection, the Canadian parliament may see more MPs ofIndian-origin this time. In the outgoing 308-memberHouse of Commons, there were nine MPs of Indian origin- four from the ruling Conservative Party and five from theopposition Liberal Party. The ruling Conservative partyhas fielded eight, the main opposition Liberal Party 10 andthe New Democratic Party (NDP) five Indo-Canadian can-didates in this election. While all the sitting MPs - UjjalDosanjh, Ruby Dhalla, Navdeep Bains, Gurbax Malhi,Sukh Dhaliwal, Nina Grewal, Deepak Obhrai, DevinderShory and Tim Oppal - have been re-nominated by theirparties, there are many new faces in the fray this time.

Though most of the siting Indo-Canadian MPs are expect-ed to be back in the House of Commons, veteran UjjalDosanjh and Ruby Dhalla of the opposition Liberal Partyface tough battle this time. In the 2008 elections, Dosanjhhad managed to win in the Vancouver South constituen-cy by just 20 votes. Dhalla, who is one of the first SikhMPs in Canada, too had retained her seat by about 700votes. The ruling Conservative Party, which has failed toachieve a simple majority in the last three elections, is try-ing very hard to unseat both Dosanjh and Dhalla.Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and immigrationminister Jason Kenney have visited Dhalla's constituencyof Brampton-Springdale on the outskirts of Toronto in sup-port of their candidate Parm Gill.

Canadian parliament may see more Indian-origin MPs

Tennis stars Venus Williams, left, and her sister Serena Williams, share a laugh during the10th anniversary celebration of the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center in Washington.

KABUL: Eight American troopsand a US contractor died onWednesday after an Afghan militarypilot opened fire during a meeting atKabul airport -- the deadliestepisode to date of an Afghan turningagainst his coalition partners, offi-cials said. The Afghan officer, whowas a veteran military pilot, fired onthe Americans after an argument,the Afghan defense ministry said. Allnine killed were American, accord-ing to a senior US defense official,who spoke on condition of anonymi-ty because the information has notyet been made public. The shooting

occurred in an operations room ofthe Afghan Air Corps at Kabul air-port. "Suddenly, in the middle of themeeting, shooting started," saidAfghan Air Corps spokesman Col.Bahader, who uses only one name."After the shooting started, we saw anumber of Afghan army officers andsoldiers running out of the building.Some were even throwing them-selves out of the windows to getaway." Five Afghan soldiers wereinjured. At least one Afghan soldierwas shot -- in the wrist -- but most ofthe soldiers suffered broken bonesand cuts, Bahader said.

9 Americans dead after Afghanmilitary pilot opens fire

WORLD NEWS22 �� April, 2011

This is a love story. It began ona hot summer night in SantaBarbara , California, whenTamara Langman helped kill theyellow-eyed demon known asPrince Malchezaar. She waslogged into World of Warcraft, themultiplayer fantasy game, andher avatar — Arixi Fizzlebolt , abusty gnome with three blondpigtails — had also managed topique the interest of JohnBentley, aka Weulfgar McDoal.

A note to the uninitiated: Worldof Warcraft is a vast online gamewhere monsters are meant to bevanquished, but it is also a socialnetworking experience. Whenplayers aren't battling monsters,their avatars are exploring fantas-tical landscapes (lush jungles,snowy forests, misty beaches),where they can meet and gab viathe game's instant message fea-ture, or through voice communi-cation software.

And so Langman and Bentleyfound a quiet spot for theiravatars to sit. Hours evaporatedas they discussed everythingfrom their families to their futures.Sometime before dawn,Langman realized that while shewas in the fictional world ofAzeroth, she was also on a date.

For the next two months,Langman, 27, and Bentley, 24,rendezvoused in Azeroth, untilone day they decided to meet inSanta Barbara instead . WhenBentley stepped onto the tarmacat the Santa Barbara airport on abright October afternoon in 2008,Langman ran to him. Bentleyscooped her up into his arms andspun her around.

He had planned to stay for acouple of weeks before returningto Atlanta. But two weeksbecame two years, and Bentleyand Langman are still together.Who knew a World of Warcraftsubscription could deliver moreromance than Match.com?

Langman and Bentley arehardly the only couple to haveforged an avatar love connection. Gaming forums are rife withanecdotes from players who aredating and marrying. Some cou-ples have even had their avatarsmarry. (You can watch videos ofthe ceremonies on YouTube.)

And while it may sound likesomething out of a science fictionnovel, more people are likely tomeet this way as the genre(known as massively multiplayeronline role-playing games, orMMORPGs) continues to grow.

WASHINGTON: The WhiteHouse welcomed on Saturday aplan for Yemen's longtimePresident Ali Abdullah Saleh tostep down, urging all sides to"swiftly" implement a peacefultransfer of power. "We applaudthe announcements by theYemeni Government and theopposition that they have accept-ed the GCC-brokered agreementto resolve the political crisis in apeaceful and orderly manner,"White House spokesman JayCarney said in a statement.

"The United States supports apeaceful transfer of power inYemen that is responsive to theaspirations of the Yemeni people."

Carney also urged "all partiesto move swiftly to implement theterms of the agreement so that theYemeni people can soon realizethe security, unity, and prosperitythat they have so courageouslysought and so richly deserve."

His comments came after asenior official for Yemen's rulingGeneral People's Congress saidthe party has accepted a planfrom the six-nation GulfCooperation Council (GCC) underwhich Saleh would stand down.US State Department spokesmanMark Toner earlier said "the timing

and form of this transition shouldbe identified through dialogue andbegin immediately." He also calledfor "genuine participation" from allsides and urged them to refrainfrom violence. The Gulf planwould see Saleh submit his resig-nation to parliament within 30days, with a presidential vote tobe held within two months.

"The GPC and its allies haveaccepted the GCC initiative in itsentirety," said Soltan al-Barakani,the party's deputy secretary gen-eral and head of the its parliamen-tary bloc. Gulf Arab nations havealso proposed forming a govern-ment of national unity in Yemen,Saleh transferring his powers tohis vice president and an end todeadly protests rocking the impov-erished country. The oppositionCommon Forum coalition had saidit would reject any national unitygovernment while Saleh remainsin office. A defiant Saleh, who hasruled Yemen for 32 years, haspublicly insisted on sticking to theconstitution in any transfer ofpower throughout the violent tur-moil wracking his country sinceJanuary that has left over 130people dead in clashes betweensecurity forces and anti-regimeprotesters.

Lindsay Lohansentenced to 120

days jail

LOS ANGELES: ActressLindsay Lohan was sentenced onFriday to 120 days in jail for vio-lating her probation on a 2007drunk driving conviction.

Lohan was taken from a LosAngeles court by sheriff'sdeputies officials at the end of apreliminary hearing on a jewelrytheft charge. Lohan was earlierordered to stand trial in June on areduced, misdemeanor charge ofstealing a $2,500 necklace inJanuary. But the judge on Fridayruled that the jewelry incident wasa probation violation and sen-tenced her to 120 days jail and480 hours community service.Lohan's lawyer said she would filean immediate appeal.

White House hails agreementon ending Yemen crisis

It's love at first kill for agrowing number of gamers

Muammar Gaddafi's son killedDamage which the Libyan gov-

ernment said was caused by acoalition air strike is seen at thehouse of Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi, sonof Libyan leader MuammarGaddafi, in Tripoli April 30, 2011.(Reuters Photo)

TRIPOLI: Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi survived aNato air strike that killed hisyoungest son and three grandchil-dren and destroyed a Tripolihouse, a Libyan governmentspokesman said on Saturday."What we have now is the law ofthe jungle," government

spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told anews conference. "We think now itis clear to everyone that what ishappening in Libya hasnothing to do with theprotection of civilians."Gaddafi, who seizedpower in a 1969 coup, isfighting an uprising byrebels who have seizedmuch of the eastern partof the country. Britishand French-led Natoforces are permittedunder a United Nations resolutionto attack Gaddafi forces to protectcivilians. There was no immediate

Nato reaction or independent con-firmation of the incident.

Libya's government took jour-nalists to the house,which had been hit by atleast three missiles. Theroof had completelycaved in in some areas,leaving mangled rods ofreinforcing steel hang-ing down amongchunks of concrete. Atable football machinestood outside in the gar-

den of the house, which was in awealthy residential area of Tripoli.The blasts had been heard across

the city late on Saturday. Rifle fireand car horns rang out in therebels' eastern capital of Benghazias news of the attack spread.

Authorities said Gaddafi'syoungest son, Saif al-Arab, hadbeen killed in the attack. Saif al-Arab is one of Gaddafi's lessprominent sons, with a limited rolein the Tripoli power structure.

Ibrahim said Saif al-Arab, 29,was a student who had studied inGermany.

"We will fight and fight if wehave to," Ibrahim said. "The leaderoffered peace to Nato yesterdayand Nato rejected it."

Libyan leader Gaddafi survives Nato air strike, son killed

France's 'first baby':Sarkozys awaitingvisit from stork?

LONDON: France is set to have a'first baby'. Newspapers across theGallic nation reported on Sunday thatPresident Nicolas Sarkozy and wifeCarla Bruni are expecting a child. Thebaby would be the 43-year-old's first

with Sarkozy,56, whom shemarried follow-ing a whirlwindromance in2008, reportedDaily Mailonline.

Rumours ofthe pregnancyfirst appeared inthe latest edition

of French magazine Closer under theheadline 'Pregnant at last', withsources telling the weekly glossy theywere "absolutely certain" about theinformation.

Closer has printed similar storiesbefore, all of which have proved to befalse, but today papers including LeJournal du Dimanche, Le Parisien,and Le Figaro ran articles on theclaims. Neither the Elysee Palace norsenior ministers have denied theclaims, solely explaining that theycould not say anything more becausethe matter was to do with the couple'sprivate life.

Sources quoted in other publica-tions said that the French first lady isin the "early weeks of her pregnancy",meaning the child would be born intime for the next spring's presidentialcampaign, when Sarkozy hopes to bereturned to the Elysee Palace for asecond term.

L O N D O N :Controversial ItalianPrime Minister SilvioBerlusconi has beenfilmed making a lewdjoke about his secre-tary. Berlusconi, whois facing a charge ofpaying a 17-year-oldfor sex, cracked thelewd joke while beinginterviewed – beforeasking the media per-sons to make it offthe record. The bil-

lionaire tycoon wasasked to recall thebest manager to leadAC Milan, the Italianfootball club he ispresident of. "Look I

am getting old. Thismorning I was chasingmy secretary to do heron the table and she

said: 'Prime Ministerwe only did it twohours ago.' So yousee my memory isgoing," the PM says inthe clip. PrimeMinister was thenheard saying to thecrew: "If you lotbroadcast that thenyou are all a bunch of***** ." Footage of hislatest gaffe wasscreened on ItalianTV show Annozero. Itrevealed how the filmhad actually beenshot earlier this monthbut not screened afterjournalists presentagreed not to report it.

Berlo caught on camerajoking about sex with aide

Lenin's largest statuerazed in central AsiaDUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN: Workers began

pulling down the largest statue ofVladimir Lenin in ex-Soviet CentralAsia from its place of honour onFriday, earning outrage from die-hard communists celebrating theRussian revolutionary's 141st birth-day. A significant but waning numberof people in former Soviet countriesremain faithful to the iconic founder of the Sovietstate even twenty years after the collapse ofCommunism. Lenin statues were demolished asCommunist regimes crumbled two decades ago,but the monuments remain ubiquitous — andsometimes controversial — across parts of the for-mer Soviet Union still ambivalent about the era.

As hundreds of Communists laid flowers atLenin's Red Square tomb in Moscow, workers inTajikistan were dismantling the 22.5-meter (74-foot) Lenin monument in the city center of Khujand,once known as Leninabad in honour of the Sovietfounder.

PEOPLE’S PAGE 23�� May, 2011

The Indian NewsMedia in Sydney willbe publishing regu-lar articles on someof the prominent andsuccessful Indo-Australians inSydney. In the cur-rent issue, BennBhan Sharma, alsoknown as Benny tohis associates, and‘Uncle Benn’ to FijiIndian soccer com-munity, has beenhonoured as a rareindividual and a rolemodel to the society. An energetic

multi-talented BennBhan, enjoys con-tributing his profes-sional services topromote and devel-op Hinduism intoday’s multi-culturaland multi-religious society. It is extremelybeneficial for the Indian community to haveaccess to Benny’s services as he readilydeparts knowledge on various matters anddoes not shy away from responsibilities. In2007, Mr Sharma received “BestCommunity Service Award” at the SouthAsian Small Business and Cultural Awards.This prestigious award was presented atthe Gala Dinner at Ryde City Council byBhartiya Vidya Bhavan andCommonwealth Bank. Generally, most Fiji Indians tend to

belong to either social, religious or sportsgroups and Benny has been activelyinvolved in leadership roles across all threef a c t i o n s .The highlights of some of his contributionto the community are:• As a practicing Hindu, Benny has

helped establish Ramayan Mandalis,chaired Diwali Mela (2004/05), and hasbeen the co-founder and currentTrustee of the Australian HinduMulticultural Association. He is also theco-founder and Honorary Patron of theShree Sanatan Dharam PratinidhiSabha of NSW. More recently, Bennyand his Fiji Indian associates inBrisbane met with the QueenslandPremier, Anna Bligh(pictured), toadvance discussions on a Mandir pro-ject.

• In addition to participating in religiousactivities, Benny enjoys letting his hairdown with the ‘golden nectar’ he callsscotch. Benny believes there is a timefor everything, religious activitiesshould be observed during the festiveseasons and this should be balancedwith other attractions of a western soci-ety. As a co-founder and GeneralSecretary of Friends of Fiji – Australia(NSW Branch), Benny has successfullyorganised social nights for the formerFiji residents in Sydney. His new socialgroup’s vision is to establish a culturalcentre where all ex-Fiji residents,despite their individual cultural identitiescan interact and preserve the uniqueFiji heritage.

• In the sporting arena, Benny was one ofthe founders and currently President ofSydney Sanatan Sports Associationand chairman/patron of Australian

Sanatan Sports Assn.Currently as Patron ofthe World SanatanSports Association,Benny and his associ-ates have successfullyorganised fourSanatan World Cupsoccer tournaments inAustralia, NewZealand, UnitedStates and mostrecently in Fiji. Inaddition, Benny is thePatron of Sydney BaSoccer Association ofNSW and enjoys hisrole as public relationsofficer at regular inter-national or inter-statesoccer tournaments.Other ethnic organisa-tions also valueBenny’s contribution tothe sport and haveappointed him as Hon.

Patron of Ba Muslim and Ba Sangamsoccer associations in NSW.More recently, in the last weekend of

January, Benny was the one of the coordi-nators for the four Sydney teams in theannual International Masters veterans’ tour-nament held in Auckland, NZ. One of theteams competed under the banner SyndeyNalawa BV and won the over 40s tourna-ment, while the other Sydney Ba Veteransteam won the over 35s competition. Onceagain, Benny has proven himself to be anoutstanding Ambassador for Sydney soc-cer teams abroad and a brilliant compeer atthe new Central Park Stadium.Benny hails from Ba, Fiji, the once sug-

arcane capital of Fiji, and still the mostfeared name in Fiji, and is still the mostfeared name in Fiji soccer, and amongstthe Fijian communities in Australia, NewZealand, USA and Canada. Benny’s for-mer hometown carries the tradition of pro-ducing some of the best soccer players inthe country, which has led to his passion inthe sport and hard work to ensure the tradi-tion continues in his current hometown. The other reason for Benn Bhan

Sharma’s popularity amongst the Fiji Indiancommunity in Sydney, is mostly due to hisentertaining nature and excellent sense ofhumour which seems to flow spontaneous-ly during soccer commentaries and socialfunctions that he hosts. One of hisfavourite lines during soccer commentariesis “Mein Hoon Nah,” which always seemsto create a sensation at soccer tourna-ments in Australia, New Zealand, USA,Canada and Fiji. His sense of humor andpopularity is widely appreciated and even ifhe is not meant to be commentating, see-ing him at sports venues, the organisersalways find a role for Benny. In addition to creating a fun atmosphere

at soccer tournaments, Benny is exception-ally talented public speaker and naturallyentertains large crowds in either English,Hindi, Urdu or Fijian. While fulfilling his roleas a master of ceremony, Benny’s wit is evi-dent as his dialogues are generally tameand humour is family oriented.His charismatic personality ensures no

shortage of fans. It is amazing to see eventhe young generation of Fijian soccer play-ers who often participate at the tourna-ments in Sydney acknowledge Benny by

calling out his famous line, “mein hoonnah.” With such natural entertaining ability,

Benny would have definitely benefittedfrom being born in Bollywood. But for now,lets just regard him as Fiji’s RajeshKhanna, as he does play the scene whendressed up in ‘kurta pyjama’, uttering pol-ished Hindi, with the occasional shayeri,while officiating at Indian functions.Along with his bubbly sociable personal-

ity, there is a serious nature to Benny whocan be extremely business oriented but atthe same time community focused. Bennyis a unique example to the Fiji Indian com-munity on how people can utilise the best ofboth worlds, - our cultural heritage com-bined with what the western world has tooffer, and lead an enjoyable lifestyle in themodern world. As a real estate profession-al, Benny has demonstrated a perfect bal-ance between competing business priori-ties and his dedication to development andenhancement of Hinduism in our society,and his love for Fiji’s national sport ‘soccer’.Benny’s extensive contribution to theestablishment of religious organisations,promotion of soccer, and constant visiblepresence in the Indo-Fijian community, hasearned him the honor of being recognisedas a prominent and successful Fiji Indian inSydney. His purpose in life is to genuinelyhelp people and organisations change forthe better, regardless of race or religion.His incredible energy level and sincere

interest in the well being of others hasearned him recognisable status as aJustice of Peace in NSW, SanatanAmbassador, Noted Journalist and nomi-nated for Premier’s Business/CommunityService Awards. Being a true follower ofSanatan Dharam, Benny believes in liveand let live – “jeeyo aur jeene doh.” Whilewe have all suffered some setbacks in ourlives, it is these experiences which eithermakes or breaks a person. Some peoplechoose to think only of themselves andtheir families, while others sacrifice theirtime and energy for the benefit of thegreater community. Benny lives by theancient Chinese belief, “fall down eighttimes, get up nine times,” in other wordspeople should always be ready to bounceback more often than they fall. The com-munity would be a lot better place if peoplewere not self-centered and applied them-selves in areas where they could make apositive difference to the society. TheBhagavat Gita regards life on earth as tem-porary and states nothing in this world ispermanent. Why not learn from Benny andenjoy your time on earth, most importantly,enjoy whats here now. Yesterday is history,no one has seen tomorrow, today is a giftfrom God and that’s why its called ‘present’.As a true Sanatani, Benny has demonstrat-ed many times that “sewa mein mewa hai.”We salute you sir… Cheers!!

-From Arveen Sharma in Canberra ACT

Prominent & Successful Indians Abroad

SYDNEY’S SHARMA SETS SUPERB SOCIAL SERVICESachievementsand memories

US Updates24 �� May, 2011

WASHINGTON: PresidentBarack Obama warnedAmericans on Sunday night toremain vigilant even after thekilling of al-Qaida leader Osamabin Laden and while there are noknown credible threats, the risk ofattacks remains. TheDepartment of HomelandSecurity (DHS) and the FBI havenot issued any warning of a cred-ible or imminent threat in thewake of news that bin Laden waskilled in Pakistan, but security willlikely be ramped up to guardagainst possible retaliation."There is no doubt that al-Qaida

will continue to pursue attacksagainst us. We must and we willremain vigilant at home andabroad," Obama said in a late-night televised statementannouncing that U.S. forces hadkilled bin Laden. DHS and FBIofficials had no immediate com-ment about the risk of attacks orany new threats.

While bin Laden was seen asthe leader of al-Qaida, becausehe was in hiding from U.S. forceshe was reduced more to a figure-head, experts said. Meanwhileaffiliates of his militant grouphave taken the lead in launching

attacks.Most attacks against U.S.

interests have been by a Yemeniaffiliate, al-Qaida in the ArabianPeninsula (AQAP). The grouphas claimed responsibility for try-ing in October to send bombspacked in toner cartridgesaboard cargo planes bound forthe United States. They wereintercepted and failed to deto-nate. AQAP also backed anattempt on Christmas Day 2009by a Nigerian man who tried butfailed to detonate a bomb hiddenin his underwear while aboard aU.S. commercial flight as it

approached Detroit fromAmsterdam.

"This doesn't end the terroristthreat to the United States, but it'sthe end of a key chapter to theWar of Terror," said Juan Zarate,who served as deputy nationalsecurity adviser for combatingterrorism during George W.Bush's presidency. "There maybe a spike of threats initially, andthere are other elements of theal-Qaida network who remaindangerous," said Zarate, now asenior adviser at the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies.

Threat remains after bin Ladenkilled by US forces

NY police chief callsbin Laden death

'welcome milestone'NEW YORK: New York's police chief

on Sunday called the killing of Osama binLaden a "welcome milestone" for thefamilies of the victims of the September11, 2001 attacks.

About 3,000 people were killed in theattacks, including more than 2,600 in thedemolition of the World Trade Centertowers by Al-Qaida hijackers.

"The death of Osama Bin Laden is awelcome milestone for the friends andfamilies of those killed on 9/11, and for allwho remain tenaciously engaged in pro-tecting New York from another attack,"said New York Police CommissionerRaymond Kelly in a statement.

Media reports said that extra securitywould be laid on in the city after theannouncement. The police departmentrefused to comment.

WASHINGTON: Noting thatthey never doubted Osama binLaden's presence in Pakistan,American experts today said hisdeath could turn out to be a turn-ing point in US-Pak counter-ter-rorism partnership.

The death of the wanted ter-rorist could also help with effortsto split the Taliban from al-Qaeda,they said. "No surprise there --we always believed he was inPakistan," Ashley Tellis, SeniorAssociate at the CarnegieEndowment for InternationalPeace, a Washington-basedthink-tank, told PTI. "While weare awaiting details on this coop-eration, initial reports suggestPakistan's role in the operationwas important and thus will be

deeply appreciated by US offi-cials," said Lisa Curtis of theHeritage Foundation, aWashington-based think-tank."This could be a turning point inthe US-Pakistan counter-terror-ism partnership. Many inWashington had begun to doubtPakistan's commitment to fightingterrorism. But this historic devel-opment is likely to foster atremendous amount of goodwillfrom Washington towardIslamabad and bolster the rela-tionship," Curtis said. Curtis saidAl Zawahiri almost certainly willtake over as al-Qaeda's newchief. "We are likely to hear astatement from him soon urgingal-Qaeda followers and its affili-ates to remain committed to the

cause," she said. "However, bin Laden was the

founder and spiritual head of al-Qaeda and his death will demor-alize the ranks of the organiza-tion and thus be a major setbackfor the movement," Curtis said.Curtis said the death of bin Ladencould help with efforts to split theTaliban from al-Qaeda. "It coulddiminish the importance of al-Qaeda for the Taliban and thusmake it easier for the Taliban to renounce its ties to theorganization. At the least, binLaden's death will cause soul-searching among the Talibanleadership as they weigh the util-ity of remaining allied to an orga-nization that has lost its foundingleader," she said.

Osama death turning point in US-Pak counterterror ties: Experts

WASHINGTON: Al Qaida chiefOsama bin Laden, who orderedseveral terror attacks, used awoman, believed to his wife, as ashield when US special forces raid-ed the one million dollar house inPakistan's Abbottabad where hewas hiding, the White House hassaid. "Thinking about that from avisual perspective, here is binLaden, who has been calling forthese attacks, living in this million-dollar-plus compound, living in anarea that is far removed from thefront, hiding behind women whowere put in front of him as a shield,"Deputy National Security Advisorfor Counterterrorism and HomelandSecurity John Brennan toldreporters at the White House. "I

think it really just speaks to just howfalse his narrative has been overthe years."

"And so, again, looking at whatbin Laden was doing hiding therewhile he's putting other people outthere to carry out attacks again justspeaks to, I think, the nature of theindividual he was," Brennan said.

Besides, bin Laden, the two al-Qaida facilitators - who were thecourier, his son Khalid and awoman presumed to be his wife,who was shielding bin Laden, diedin yesterday's pre-dawn operations.

"She served as a shield; again,this is my understanding. And we'restill getting the reports of exactlywhat happened at particularmoments.

Tweets beat US prez onthe big breaking newsWASHINGTON: The White House announced that Barack Obama

would address the nation at 10.30pm on Sunday. But before the pres-ident took the mike, Twitter and other social networking sites wereabuzz with speculation that Osama bin Laden could be dead.

At 9.45pm, Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director,wrote on Twitter: "POTUS to address the nation tonight at 10.30pm."Sharing the same message that had just been transmitted to theWhite House press corps. According to NBC news anchor BrianWilliams, "some journalists received a three-word e-mail that simplyread, 'Get to work', the New York Times said.

The nation's television anchors and newspaper editors did notknow, at first, that Obama would be announcing the death of binLaden, but reporters in Washington suspected almost immediatelythat the announcement could be about the al-Qaida chief.

Wishful thinking about bin Laden's death ricocheted across theweb — and then at 10.25pm, while Obama was writing his speech,one particular tweet seemed to confirm it. Keith Urbahn, the chief ofstaff for the former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, wrote, "So I'mtold by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hotdamn." Urbahn quickly added, "Don't know if it's true, but let's pray itis." He was credited by many on the web with breaking the news,though he did not have first-hand confirmation.

Within minutes, anonymous sources at the Pentagon and theWhite House started to tell reporters the same information. ABC, CBSand NBC interrupted programming across the country at almost thesame minute, 10.45pm, with the news. "We're hearing absolute jubi-lation throughout government," the ABC News correspondent MarthaRaddatz reported. Brian Williams on NBC told viewers, "This storystarted to leak out in the public domain largely when someCongressional staffers started to make phone calls."

The costliest and bloodiest man-hunt in human history came to anend when Osama bin Laden waskilled by US special forces in a night-time shootout in Abbotabad,Pakistan. With a bounty of $50 mil-lion on his head, Osama had playedhide and seek with the US for nearlya decade since former presidentBush declared him the arch terroristand the mastermind behind theSeptember 11, 2001, attacks on theTwin Towers in New York.

The US launched a Global Waron Terror after the attacks. Initiallyfocused on Afghanistan, where binLaden was supposed to be hiding,this war soon spread to Iraq, anddistant places like the Horn of Africaand Philippines. Dozens of countriesgot involved. But the centerpieceremained the elusive bin Laden. TheUS has spent $1.28 trillion till now onthis war, according to a recentlyreleased study of the CongressionalResearch Service, an arm of the USCongress. The bulk of this — $806billion or 63% of the total — hasbeen spent in Iraq while Afghanistansucked up $444 billion or 35%.Strengthening of US military bases

all over the world has taken up about$29 billion. The researchers couldnot account for the balance $6 bil-lion. The US Congressional BudgetOffice has projected that the totalcost of war would reach a mind-bog-gling $1.8 trillion by 2021. Thisincludes the declared troops reduc-tion schedules. Even with bin Ladendead, expenditure on the war effortis unlikely to reduce any furthersince in both Iraq and Afghanistan,bin Laden or his organization al-Qaida are not the main opposition toUS. The Osama manhunt easilyqualifies as the bloodiest ever. USitself has lost nearly 6000 of itstroops and another 55,000 havesustained injuries. But the price paidby civilians has been very high. Over1.2 million people are estimated tohave died in Iraq in direct armedconflict although other studies putthe figure much higher. InAfghanistan, over 20,000 peoplehave been killed and nearly 50,000injured in the war. In Somalia andneighbouring countries at least 6500people died in the course of the pastdecade. All figures are at bestapproximate and likely to be under-

estimates as there are no officialbody counts. There have been atleast 13 major terrorist attacks since9/11, killing over 1000 persons.Besides these, there have been atleast 10 planned attacks that werebusted. Not all of these attacks canbe directly linked to bin Laden or al-Qaida. The war on terror has hadwidespread political fallout as gov-ernments in several allies of the USlost elections due to public discon-tent against participation in the war.In other countries, governmentsfaced protests and criticism.

President Obama himself wonthe presidency promising draw downof the war. Experts are unsurewhether the elimination of Osamabin Laden will lead to lessening ofthe terror threat. In his life, he firstserved as a cash rich rallying forcefor the Afghan Mujahedin in theirjihad against the Soviet Union inAfghanistan — an avatar that gothim the support of the US. Laterwhen he turned against the US, he became the reason for the global war. Now, in his death, heironically serves the political interestof the US again.

Laden hid behind his wife dur-ing US forces raid: White House

It took US 10 yrs, $1.3tn to killOsama bin Laden and avenge 9/11

25�� May, 2011STAR AGEARIES

March-21to

April-20

TAURUS

April-21to

May-20

More even than usual you will wantto be loved, nurtured, protected.What’s important is to have solid,reassuring mates around. You willbelieve what you want to believewhere friends or team mates areconcerned. Being gullible to thepromises of those who are unrealis-tic or unreliable will only create con-fusion in the long run.

GEMINI

May-21to

June-21

CANCER

June-22to

July-23

Don’t get jealous if a friend paysmore attention to someone else,because it will pass by very quickly.You will be asking yourself profoundquestions about the meaning of yourlife. This can feel a slightly odd timeas you find your old value-systemsdissolving and the new guidelinesyou want for yourself are still in theprocess of developing.

LEO

July-24to

August-23

Clearly you’ve decided you’re notgoing to get enough attention athome, so you have to go out intothe world and get it. You’ll be sensi-tive, very responsive to the moodaround you at work, and thereforevery good about handling group sit-uations. You have incentive andambition, but you’re putting it acrossin a very nice kind of way.

VIRGO

August-24to

September-23

LIBRA

September-24to

October-22

It may be that you have to come tonew arrangements and new agree-ments with very close partners,maybe over joint finances or overyour intimate emotional life. It couldonly be minor adjustments you arelooking for. Neptune is a rather con-trary energy to have around. But ifyou work in a spirit of service to oth-ers, it turns out well.

SCORPIO

October-23to

November-22

Whether it’s at home or at work, youwant the solid, reassuring support ofpeople who can be there for you. Givea wide berth to grumblers, gripes andgeneral bores. Look for supportive bud-dies, who have been there for you inthe past. Maybe you pitched yourexpectations too high about an emo-tional matter and the reality was nevergoing to match your inner visions.

SAGITTARIUS

November-23to

December-22

CAPRICON

December-23to

Januar-20

Relationships with women, no matterwhat gender you are, are usually goodwith the moon shining its motherly lighton you. You will want to show yourselfin a positive way, coming across asnurturing. If you take care of others,then they are likely to respond in likemanner. Everyday relationships withfriends and workmates will be good.

AQUARIES

January-21to

February-19

Push away the people who are awk-ward, back off circumstances which aretricky and find a little niche in the officeor at home, when you can be in chargeof all you survey. You want to bewrapped up in cotton wool, giving your-self the goodies of life. You do want tobe idealistic and generous about moneyand your possessions.

PISCES

February-20to

March-20

Going to one extreme or the otherwhere cash is concerned is nothelpful. If you save to the extent thatyou’re not able to give yourself theodd present or treat then you’ll feeldeprived. But if you pleasure yoursenses and give yourself the good-ies of life without limits then you willget the budget unbalanced.Moderation is the answer.

You will be picking up subtle cluesand hints of the unspoken needs ofclose companions. This can makeyou caring, but will have to watchthat you’re not pulled into carryingeveryone else’s problems. Protectyourself from being drained toomuch or getting dragged into activi-ties that basically don’t interest youterribly.

Make sure that you’re sorting moreentertaining and intriguing things todo, because you want to be mental-ly stretched. You want to meet newfriends, to hear about different back-grounds, different countries.Anything frankly which makes youfeel that everything is a bubblier,brighter, breezier. Companions maybe evasive or unreliable.

It’s important that you don’t let otherpeople demand too much of you. If youare giving out a great deal then it’s obvi-ously a bright idea to look at your body,see what you need to do to give it a bitof a boost. There may be some emo-tional confusion at home now. You arebeginning to look at one situation andfeel rather let down.

Scattering yourself too widely, getting abit frantic is all too likely now. If you candetach your feelings from your thinkingthen you’ll find it easier to focus andconcentrate. If you can hide your confu-sion behind a mask of mystique, thenyou can fool most of the people most ofthe time. You are looking at almostevery aspect of your life now.

HHOOWW TTOO KKEEEEPP YYOOUURRSSEELLFF AAWWAAYY FFRROOMM BBAADD TTHHOOUUGGHHTTSS

It is very difficult, if not impossible to eliminate bad and unde-sirable thoughts from crossing our mind. While we are learningnew ways of thinking and working in the 21st century. The humanmind wanders in darkness like a bat. There are many people onthis planet who suffer from depression. The best way to eliminatethis problem is by worshipping lord Hanuman. Lord Hanumanpurifies our mind with his wisdom. To fight depression, get up earlyin the morning and practise 'pranayama'. After doing yoga chantthe following mantra of Lord Hanuman-

"Mahabeer Bikram Bajrangi, Kumati niwaar sumati ke sangi"Chanting this holy mantra will purify your thought process.

Worshipping lord Hanuman can help us to eradicate all of our per-sonal problems. Lord hanuman can purify our mind with his wisdom.

FFIIJJII SSPPOORRTTSS26 �� May, 2011

Cricket Fijiholds trialsCricket Fiji is today holding trials for its

Suva-based national squad members asthe preparations continue for the interna-tional outings for the year.

Fiji will be playing in the East AsiaPacific Division One Twenty/Twenty pre-liminary qualifiers in Papua New Guinea inJuly. Fiji needs to win these play-offs tostand a chance of playing theTwenty/Twenty World Cup qualifiers.Following that the side will play at thePacific Games in New Caledonia inAugust followed by the World CricketLeague Division 6 in September inMalaysia. The current squad has beentrimmed to 30 plus overseas-based play-ers, although two new players have beenadded to the list since it was initiallynamed. Under-19 representativeCakacakaVeritaki and Moce all-rounderSeruTupou are the newcomers.The Fijisquad has the likes of IniasiCakacaka,Josefa Rika, WaisakeTukaha,JosefaDabea and MaciuGauna, who allare likely to get the nod in the final team.

The Fiji Police Force hascommended the public’s sup-port for a successful and inci-dent free Coca Cola Gameswhich ended yesterday.However Police spokesper-

son – AtunaisaSokomuri saysdespite numerous warnings alarge number of students werefound loitering in the city atnight.“According to out calcula-

tions there were 6000 people inSuva city last night until theearly hours of today and thisprompted the Fiji Police Forceto call for re-enforcement earlythis morning so that we couldmonitor the movement of thepeople. Despite our effort andpro-active approach the stu-dents and people still turned upin the city after the games.”Meanwhile - the Land

Transport Authority says they

are happy with the responsefrom students – with regards totheir behaviour in busses dur-ing the Coca Cola Games.LTA CEO NaisaTuinaceva

says directives given were welltaken into consideration by stu-dents and the public at large.Tuinaceva says there was

no report of indiscipline of stu-dents on our roads.

Majority of the gold medallistsat the Coca Cola Games, whichended yesterday, are expected tomake the final cut in the Fiji teamfor the Pacific Games in August.Leading the lot is the fastestschoolboy ever,RatuBanuveTabakaucoro, who wonthe 100, 200 and 4 X 100 metres inthe two-day meet. RatutiraNararaand VarasikoTomeru of Marist,BeniaminoMaravu of Saint BedesCollege, Suva Grammar’sPauliniKorowaqa, MereseiniNaidauof Nadarivatu, AdiCakobau Schoolcaptain Ana Kaloucava and herteam mate ElenoaSailosi are someof the names likely to make the cut.Tabakaucoro is also being consid-ered for the 400 metres and couldbe taking part in four events in NewCaledonia. Meanwhile, SuvaGrammar won the boys division forthe fifth year in a row, while ACSmade it 11 years on the trot in thegirl’s grade.

PLYMOUTH Albion coach Nat Saumi flieshome to Fiji today – but the former interna-tional will be back at Brickfields in just sixweeks to help co-ordinate the club's pre-sea-son campaign.Saumi had initially intended to return to Fiji

permanently this summer after 15 years play-ing and coaching in the West Country.But the 40-year-old qualified IRB coach

changed his mind because he feels there isunfinished business at Brickfields after a dis-appointing 2010/11 campaign.And, unlike in previous years, he will return

in time for the start of pre-season, which hesays will be a tough as it can be for the play-ers. "It (agreeing to return) was a big decisionfor me," said Saumi, who has a wife and twochildren in Fiji."And it was because of the way we fin-

ished this season. I was not very happy aboutthat. "The challenge for next season is to tryand get Plymouth back where they used tobe. "All supporters know about PlymouthAlbion in times past and we are trying to getback to that. "That means I have to cut downon my time in Fiji. The same as when I wasplaying, I am only going to have six weeksleave," said Saumi, who joined Albion as aplayer in 2003."Hopefully, everyone will be more commit-

ted. It all comes down to hard graft. Everyoneis going to have to work hard."It has been painful for me these last two

or three seasons seeing the team fighting tostay up."It is a big challenge now for next sea-son. "Players have to come in ready for the

season and ready for hard work." Saumi hasalready told the current players that he isstaying and that pre-season training is goingto be hard. Last year the Fijian missed thewhole of pre-season. "I will be starting theseason properly this year. Last season I only

came with one week to go before the seasonstarted. "But we have to all start together as ateam and really work hard." Albion's chairmanof rugby Graham Dawe is delighted thatSaumi has decided to stay at the club. In thepast, Albion have tended to only have full-time player-coaches rather than just a spe-cialist coach."Nat is committed to coming back next

season," said Dawe."That shows continuity and stability on the

coaching front and the players do enjoy work-ing with him. "They respect his commitment,his work ethic and the way he wants to playthe game. "We are very fortunate to have acoach of Nat's commitment and ability."All he asks is 100 per cent commitment

on the training field." Albion already have theirpre-season training programme planned outand they have also got four friendlies pen-cilled in. Two of the pre-season games willdefinitely be at home, most likely on a Fridayevening. "It is possible we will have three athome and one away, but it may only be two athome. "We are just waiting for confirmation ofdates and confirmation in writing beforeannouncing them," said Dawe. Last season,Albion were let down by two teams late on,meaning they were left with just two first teampre-season matches, both against Neath.

Nat Saumi has unfinished business at Plymouth Albion as he heads for Fiji

School athletes tomake up Fiji squad

RatuBanuveTabakaucoro

Warnings were notadhered to: Police

The Fiji Football Association CupTournament (FACT) will now be played atLautoka’s Churchill Park and not at GovindPark as earlier decided.Fiji FA Chief Executive Officer Bob

Kumar confirmed the change today andsaid the tournament had to be shifted sinceGovind Park was pre-booked from lastyear for the same weekend on which thetournament falls.“We had to move the tournament to

Lautoka as Govind Park was pre-bookedby another organization last year,” saidKumar. “The change to Lautoka was pos-sible as Churchill Park was free for thelong weekend plus we wanted to have thetournament in the western division sincethe other tournaments namely the BattleOf the Giants and Inter DistrictChampionship will be played in the south-ern division.”

“Churchill Park has one of the bestpitches in the country and the facilitiesthere are in tip top condition so we will notface any problem in hosting the tourna-ment there.”The tournament was played at the

same venue last season as well. TheVodafone Fiji FACT will be played fromJune 9-13.

Venue change for Fiji FACTKoro wins Island Zone

Koro battles it outwitj Moturiki in theIsland Zone final.Koro won 19-0.

FOOD 27�� May, 2011

Short of ideas totoss up a saladthat ' l l be appreci-

ated by al l at home?We br ing you somequick summer sa ladrecipes that are perfectfor a small home gath-ering and a b ig lun-cheon too.

Go ahead, create youown wonderful greenarray!

RRUUSSSSIIAANN SSAALLAADD

FOR A SMALL HOMEGATHERING

Ingredients : Boiled pota-toes, apples, boiled chick-en, boiled beans, cream,yoghurt, mayonnaise, andsalt to tasteMethod : Cut potatoes,chicken and apple intopieces. Mix yoghurt,cream and mayonnaisewell. Add potatoes, chick-en and apples, and yourRussian salad is ready.

HHAANNDD TTOOSSSSEEDD SSAALLAADD

AN IDEAL PICNIC SALADIngredients : Dicedcucumber, tomato, radish,onion, carrot, beetroot,cabbage, lettuce, salt,white pepper, malt vinegarand coriander.Method : This is the mostbasic hand tossed salad,yet always a winner. Mixall diced vegetables. Addfew drops of malt vinegar,salt/pepper to taste andgarnish with coriander.

CCUUCCUUMMBBEERR CCRREEAAMM SSAALLAADD

TO ACCOMPANY A RICHMUGHLAI MEAL

Ingredients : Diced

cucumber, salt, crushedgreen pepper corn, lemonand fresh cream.Method : Mix all ingredi-ents together and servechilled.

PPAACCHHAADDIIAA SSAALLAADD

TO ACCOMPANY ASOUTH INDIAN MENU

Ingredients : Cucumber,carrots, tomato, onion,curry leaves, mustardseeds, hang curd (driedcurd), fresh cream, saltand pepper.Method : Cut all vegeta-bles in Julian style. Mix

them with curd and addfried mustard and curryleaves for seasoning. Addsalt and pepper to taste.

PPIICCOOTTIICCAA SSAALLAADD

TO ACCOMPANYMEXICAN DELICACIES

Ingredients : Cucumbers,red and yellow bell pep-per, tomatoes, finelychopped coriander, car-rots, red chilli paste,lemon juice, salt, pepper,chopped garlic and cuminseeds powder.Method : Cut all vegeta-bles into fine cubes. Mix

all together with chillipaste, lemon juice andcumin seed powder. Addsalt/pepper to taste.

CCAAEESSAARR SSAALLAADD

TO ACCOMPANY ACONTINENTAL MEAL

Ingredients : Iceberg let-tuce, red/yellow/green bellpepper, olives, slicedonions, croutons (friedbread crumbs), olive oil,eggs, parmesan cheese,salt, pepper, mustardsauce and fresh cream.Method : Break the let-tuce leaves into two

bunches with your hand.All bell pepper must be cutin diamond shape. Mixwith onions, olives andadd salt and pepper.Method for dressing :Mix one egg yolk with 200ml olive oil , fresh creamand mustard sauce. Thiswill serve as the dressing.Garnish with croutons andparmesan cheese.

CCRRUUDDIITTEESS

TO ACCOMPANY FIN-GER FOOD

Finger foods are usuallyaccompanied by cruditéswhich are vegetablesdipped in vinagerettesauce. Vegetables usedare carrots, radish,cucumber, beetroot, fingercapsicum. These accom-paniments are usuallydipped in tartar sauce,cocktail sauce or bar-beque sauce.

Ingredients : Chicken wings: 8; Salt to taste; Black pep-per to taste; Barbecue sauce: 35 ml; Honey: 15 ml; Dijonmustard: 5 gms; Worcestershire sauce: 5 ml; Tabascosauce to taste; Crushed garlic: 1 tbsp; Oil: 30 ml.Method : Rinse chicken wings and pat dry with a kitchenpaper towel. Cut off and discard wing tips, also known aswinglets. Then cut each wing at the joint to make twopieces. Rub chicken wings with crushed garlic and sprin-kle wing pieces with salt and pepper. Keep the chicken for15 minutes to absorb the garlic. Mix together dijon mus-tard, honey, barbecue sauce and Worcestershire sauce toform a marinate. Mix chicken wings with marinate andleave aside for another 30 minutes. Place the broiler panon fire and add a few drops of oil. Place wings on the heat-ed pan. Boil for 5-6 minutes on each side or until chickenwings are nicely brown and cooked. Serve hot.

Ingredients : Penne: 200 gms, Vegetablestock: 50 ml, Garlic: 20 gms, Basil: 5 gms,Parmesan: 25 gms, White wine: 10 ml, Extravirgin olive oil: 20 ml, Salt to taste, Chilli flakes:2 gms, Black peppercorn: 2 gms, Choppedtomato: 5 gms.

Method:� Boil the penne till ala dente or firm to bite.� Heat the extra virgin olive oil and sauté the

chopped garlic.� Add the white wine and then add the

penne.� Add chilli flakes, black peppercorn and the

seasoning.� Add a little veg stock and then finish off with

parmesan cheese, chopped tomato andbasil.

Ingredients : Penne pasta (uncooked): 60 gm, Olive oil: 40ml, Chopped red onion: 20 gm, Chopped garlic: 10 gm,Crushed red pepper: 5 gm, White mushroom (sliced): 100gm, Tomato sauce: 30 gm, Black olives: 20 gm, Choppeddrained capers: 3 tbs, Salt: 1 tsp, Grated parmesancheese: 30 gm.

Method� In a large saucepan, cook pasta in salted water. Drain

and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over highheat, heat olive oil until hot.

� Add onion, garlic and red pepper; cook, stir until garlicis fragrant.

� Add mushrooms; reduce heat to medium high; cook,stir until golden for five minutes.

� Add blanched skinned tomatoes and tomato sauce;reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered, until slight-ly thickened.

� Stir in olives, capers and salt; add reserved drainedpasta.

� Add parmesan cheese.� Simmer until pasta absorbs the sauce till three minutes.� Serve immediately.

PPEENNNNEEAALLLLAA OOLLIIOOSSPPIICCYY

CChhiicckkeenn WWiinnggss

MMuusshhrroooomm PPaassttaa

UUNNIIQQUUEE GGRREEEENN SSAALLAADD IIDDEEAASS

INDIA / WORLD NEWS28 �� May, 2011

CIDCENTRAL INVESTIGTIONS DIVISON

1-800-757-6619Let’s face it:

Many times you are not sure of powers so you cannot touchanything.

You do not have time.You do not have skills and license.

You need independent party to verify.The job is half done.

Police did not do a complete investigation. They have don’t time.You are not sure what to do and how to it. What’s where we

come in the experts-CID.

You have a dispute: Someone owes you person loan and the party is not paying.Repair work on your car, home and any property has been

screwed up.Unknown/blocked callers are harassing you.

You suspect someone has damaged your car/property etc.You think someone has committed an offense against you.

Or anything else you feel needs to be investigated. Check usout first.

CIDHere’s what you get!

Full report!Where necessary pictures and documents!

Video footage where necessary!Audio recording where necessary!

Self-Help for Legal Action !

NEW DELHI: The ministry of externalaffairs confirmed on Wednesday thatArunachal Pradesh chief ministerDorjee Khandu has been killed in achopper crash, according to Times Now.

The chopper crashed between Kyelaand Lobothang near Tawang district at aheight of 4900 metres. Search opera-tions are on to locate the chief minister'sbody.

Isro pictures identified crash site ofKhandu. Six helicopters have been sentto the crash site to confirm the identity ofbodies.

External affairs minister SM Krishnasaid he is deeply pained by the demiseof Dorjee Khandu. (Read: Krishna con-doles demise of Arunachal CM)

A relative and panchayat leader ofKhandu's assembly constituency alsoidentified his body, according to Unionminister for development of NorthEastern region BK Handique. (Read:Khandu's relative identifies his body)

"I am afraid the news is grim andsad," home minister P Chidambaramsaid on Arunachal CM's chopper crash.

Earlier in the day, Chidambaram saidthe crash site had been located andsome bodies sighted. "Not encouragingand not good news," the minister toldreporters, adding that a rescue teamhad spotted what appeared to be an air-craft in an area between Kyela andLobothang at an altitude of 4,900metres (16,076 feet).

"They have sighted three bodies.

This sighting has been made from aheight. They have not been able to godown to the place where the aircraft is(lying) crashed. The message has beengiven to the nearest Army post which issending a team," he had told reporters.

After the death of Dorjee Khandu in achopper crash, Nabam Tuki, PCC pres-ident and PWD minister, is likely to bethe new chief minister of ArunachalPradesh. (Read: Nabam Tuki likely to bethe new CM of Arunachal)

On Wednesday morning, searchoperation for missing helicopter carryingKhandu focussed on in three areasalong Indo-Bhutan border.

"Based on inputs received from theISRO satellite and the Sukhoi-30 air-craft, as well as information provided bysome local people, the search opera-tions are now going inNagar GG, DistrictTawang; immediate south of Sela Passknown as Eagle's Nest Reserve Forestand district Phangrong in Bhutan", saidhome ministry joint secretary SambhuSingh.

Singh had said, "The search opera-tions are being carried out by teamsfrom the Army, ITBP, SSB, ArunachalPradesh Police, NDRF and grazers fromArunachal Pradesh. The Government ofBhutan has also deployed search teamson its side of the border".

The Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 heli-copter carrying the chief minister tookoff from Tawang at 9.50 am on Saturday.The last radio contact with the groundwas about 20 minutes after take off as itflew over the Sela Pass along theChinese border perched at an altitude of13,700 feet.

Apart from Khandu, the people onboard included crew members Captain JS Babbar and Captain K S Malick,Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddakand Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang legis-lator Tsewang Dhondup.

There were about 3,500 personneldeployed in the search operations.

Arunachal CM Dorjee Khandukilled in chopper crash

NEW DELHI: A Kuwaiti newspa-per, Al Anbaa has reportedly obtainedwhat it claims is Osama bin Laden'swill, written on December 14, 2001,three months after the 9/11 attacks,when he was on the run from the USin Afghanistan.

In the will, Bin Laden takes creditfor most of his achievements in terror-ism, culminating in the 9/11 attacks.He also orders his wives not to re-marry after his death. According toreports, the four-page document wastyped out on a computer and signed,"your brother Abu Abdullah OsamaMuhammad Bin Laden". In his letter,Bin Laden is said to have predictedthat he would be killed by the "treach-

ery" of those around him. Accordingto the Al-Anbaa newspaper, the docu-ment lists the assault on New York'stwin towers in a sequence beginningwith the suicide bombing attack onUS marines in Lebanon in 1983, thekilling of 19 US marines serving asUN peacekeepers in Somalia in 1993,and the bombing of the US embassyin Nairobi in 1998. But the most sur-prising part of the will is that Osamabin Laden asked his children not tojoin al-Qaida or join the front in thewar against the West. Instead heexpresses regret to his children fornot having spent enough time withthem because he was too busy work-ing at his jihad.

Osama's will obtained?GENEVA: The Swiss govern-

ment says it has identified poten-tial assets to be frozen worth 830million Swiss francs ($957 million)belonging to Libyan strongmanMuammar Gaddafi and the oust-ed presidents of Egypt andTunisia.

Foreign minister MichelineCalmy-Rey, speaking at a diplo-matic meeting in the Tunisiancapital Tunis, said on Monday thatthe assets include 360 millionSwiss francs ($415 million) thatmay belong to Gaddafi or hisentourage.

She said Switzerland had alsolinked some 410 million francs

($473 million) to former Egyptianpresident Hosni Mubarak and 60million francs ($69 million) toTunisia's deposed autocrat ZineEl Abidine Ben Ali.

Switzerland has orderedbanks and other financial institu-tions to freeze possible assetsbelonging to the three men andtheir key supporters to preventthe funds from being secretlywithdrawn. The Swiss govern-ment has said that Tunisia andEgypt have already started legalproceedings to claim the assets.

Switzerland froze assetslinked to Ben Ali and 40 people inhis entourage on January 19, lessthan a week after he was toppledby a popular revolt.

On February 11, Switzerlandfroze assets of Mubarak and hisassociates. ap

Swiss identify $415m Gaddafi assets to freeze

MADRID: Spain's high court sen-tenced two Somali pirates to 439years in prison each for their part inthe hijacking of a Spanish fishingboat in the Indian Ocean in 2009,according to a court statementreleased on Tuesday.

The court also found that the gov-ernment had paid a ransom to gainthe freedom of 36 crew -- including16 Spaniards -- on the Alakrana fish-ing boat that was held by pirates for46 days. The government repeatedits denial that it had paid a ransom.

Cabdiweli Cabdullahi andRaageggesey Hassan Aji were foundguilty on charges ranging from kid-napping to violent robbery after acourt appearance on Monday. Butthey were cleared of charges of ter-rorism, belonging to an armed gang,

and torture.The two men were part of a group

that took control of the Alakrana andwere captured in an operation led bythe Spanish navy which the rest ofthe pirates managed to escape. Thecrew was freed in November 2009,and the pirates said they received$3.5 million as a ransom fee.

The Spanish court said there wasno doubt the fee was paid. "The gov-ernment has already said it did notpay a ransom and I reiterate that,"foreign minister Trinidad Jimeneztold reporters. The defendants hadtried to have the case thrown outarguing Spain had no jurisdiction inthe case, but the high court said inDecember it had jurisdiction underinternational law and because it wasa Spanish ship.

Spain sentences Somalipirates to 439 years in prison PARIS: French investigators

have found and recovered thecockpit voice recorder from an AirFrance flight that plunged into theAtlantic Ocean almost two yearsago, killing all 228 people onboard, the agency that probes airaccidents said on Tuesday.

The machine that recordscockpit conversations was locatedon Monday and raised from theocean depths on Tuesday, a state-ment by the agency said.

The plane's flight data recorderwas recovered on Sunday, mean-ing both pieces critical in helpingto determine the cause of thecrash have now been found. Thememory unit was found by a sub-marine probing 3,900 meters(12,800 feet) below the ocean'ssurface. The condition of theinstruments was not immediately

clear. Like the memory unit, thecockpit voice recorder was liftedonto the Ile de Sein, a ship helpingto conduct the probe, the state-ment from the BEA agency said.Investigators hope the discoverieswill allow them to determine whatcaused the June 1, 2009, crash ofFlight 447 from Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, to Paris. The aircraftslammed into the Atlantic north-east of Brazil after running into anintense high-altitude thunder-storm. Experts had said that with-out the voice and data recordersthere would be almost no chanceof determining what caused theworst disaster in Air France's his-tory. Automatic messages sent bythe Airbus 330's computersshowed the aircraft was receivingfalse air speed readings from sen-sors known as pitot tubes.

Voice recorder of 2009 Air France flight found'Don't make mar-tyr of Osama'

MADRID: Relatives and survivors ofattacks carried out in the name of al-Qaida in Europe and Africa expressed joyand relief on Monday at Osama binLaden's death but some warned he maybecome a martyr who continues to inspireterrorists. Pilar Manjon, whose 20-year-old son was one of the 191 people whowere killed in the bombings of fourpacked commuter trains on March 11,2004, in Europe's worst Islamic terrorattack said bin Laden's death "serves uslittle". "A monster has died, but they havekilled a martyr, they are going to trans-form him into a martyr," said Majon, whoheads Spain's main association of victimsof Madrid bombings. While the news wasalso welcomed in countries like Spain,Britain and Kenya that suffered deadlyattacks linked to bin Laden's militant al-Qaida movement, the reaction outside ofthe United States was more muted.

29�� May, 2011

30 �� May, 2011

Wellbrook

Spine CenterSpine Center

Phone : 510-582-7418 Fax : 510-582-7244

WELCOME TO OUR NEW CENTER AT

2211666699 RREEDDWWOOOODD RROOAADD,, CCAASSTTRROO VVAALLLLEEYY 9944554466 wwwwww..wweellllbbrrooookkssppiinneecceenntteerr..ccoomm

CChhiirroopprraaccttiicc && MMaassssaaggee

New Patient Special !!!CCoommpplleettee CChhiirroopprraaccttiicc EExxaammiinnaattiioonn pplluuss XX--rraayy

iiff nneeeeddeedd aanndd aa rreeppoorrtt ooff oouurr ffiinnddiinngg..

ffoorr oonnllyy $$1199..0000 ((RReegg.. $$229999))..110000%% ooff tthhee pprroocceeeeddss wwiillll bbee ddoonnaatteedd ttoo

PPAAKKIISSTTAANNII RREELLIIEEFF FFUUNNDDTToo aaiidd tthhee vviiccttiimmss ooff tthhee FFllooooddiinngg!!

31�� May, 2011

32 �� May, 2011