Experts challenge Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ‘risk’ in Business Process Outsourcings

Are the 1.3 million young people working in call centres more at risk of HIV/AIDS? “Yes,” declared Dr Suniti Solomon, a top HIV/AIDS doctor who helped detect India’s first case in 1986.

Speaking at the International Congress on Infectious Diseases in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Dr Solomon, who runs an AIDS centre in Chennai, informed the gathering that youngsters working in call centres are sexually active and are prone to have unprotected sex with multiple partners who work in the same organisation.

Many of these affairs develop during their night shifts when these young workers “are huddled together”. These workers came to her clinic to get tested for HIV because they were worried that they had been having unprotected sex. “Call centre Romeos are a major high risk for HIV,” she pointed out.

Citing “confessions” by the visitors to her centre, Dr Solomon said groups of young men and women rent apartments along the beach during weekends and end up having sex with multiple partners. “If they are having sex just among themselves and all are non-infected, it is fine. But if there is one person who has gone out of this group and brought in the virus, it will spread to everyone,” she said.

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Rahul turns 38, Congress celebrates

Hundreds of his supporters celebrated the day, distributing sweets, bursting crackers and cutting cakes but Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was now here to be seen on his birthday on Thursday.

The scion of the Gandhi family was not present in his Tughlak Lane residence, though it was thronged by his supporters as they carried gifts for their leader. According to sources, the Amethi MP was in Delhi but keeping away from the limelight.

However, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and National Students Union of India (NSUI) leaders celebrated the day.

“The day is being celebrated in all districts across the country in different ways. While some groups are cutting cakes to mark the occasion others are holding relief camps to give medical aid to needy children,” IYC president Ashok Tanwar said.

Mr Gandhi’s Tughlak Lane residence here had a regular stream of visitors since morning. A crowd of around 300 people gathered at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here to celebrate his birthday. They burst crackers, danced and distributed sweets. Several hoardings and posters were put up at the AICC office and also on Tughlak Lane.

A host of important Congress leaders sent bouquets for Mr Gandhi. Among them were Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Union ministers V. Narayanasamy and Santosh Mohan Dev, as well as MPs and MLAs from different parts of the country.

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No disrespect to Kapil: Punjab Cricket Association

The Punjab Cricket Association has clarified that it meant “no disrespect” to former India captain Kapil Dev in ordering the removal of his larger than life portrait from its prominent position in the Mohali Stadium.

Anguished by the association’s action, Kapil had written to PCA secretary, M.P. Pandove seeking the return of personal memorabilia he had gifted for display in and around the stadium and clubhouse in Mohali.

Concerned that the PCA may not want to preserve these items because of his relationship with the Indian Cricket League, the former captain had requested that he be allowed to care for the articles that are of great personal and emotional attachment to him.

In a prompt response to Kapil’s e-mail message, however, the PCA management clarified that it meant “no disrespect” and that the portrait, which is actually in the form of a oversized hoarding, was taken down because of seasonal dust storms and high velocity winds.

Pandove has said that Kapil Dev’s image would be restored to its original place on the stadium walls as soon as the weather cleared.

A senior PCA official told this newspaper that the PCA’s relationship with Kapil was unaffected by his association with the ICL.

“The Long Room in the stadium is still named after the cricket legend and always will be. That’s how much we respect the man,” said the official.

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Mathura boy sets filmgoer record

Ashish Sharma of Mathura on Monday broke the world record for watching films non-stop. He watched films continuously for more than 120 hours, breaking the previous record of 117 hours that was held by Claudia Wavra of Germany.

Ashish watched over 48 Hindi films in 120 hours. Ashish Sharma of Mathura on Monday broke the world record for watching films nonstop.

He watched films continuously for more than 120 hours, breaking the previous record of 117 hours that was held by Claudia Wavra of Germany.

Ashish watched over 48 Hindi films in 120 hours beginning at 11.08 am on June 11 and ending at 8.12 pm on Monday night.

A doctor, prescribed by the authorities at the Guinness Book of World Records, was present with Ashish for the entire period. The doctor kept checking his health con dition every four hours.

“I always wanted to do something that would bring Mathura on the World map,” Ashish said.

“By chance, I saw that someone had set a record in watching films and I thought I would break it.

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Gujjar solution likely today

Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is likely to clinch a peaceful solution to the ongoing Gujjar agitation in the final round of talks with community leader Col. Kirori Singh Bainsla on Tuesday.

Satisfied with the negotiations which took place with the state government representatives in Jaipur on Monday, leaders of the five member Gujjar team said all their demands were discussed in a cordial atmosphere.

“All our demands were discussed. The government appears to be very positive and there is no confrontation with them. We are hopeful that an agreement could be arrived at between Col. Bainsla and CM Raje on Tuesday,” Delhi MLA and member of the Gujjar delegation Ramvir Singh Bidhuri told this newspaper.

Apart from the main demand of Scheduled Tribe status, the Gujjars’ demand for Rs 10 lakhs each as compensation to all those killed in police firing during the protests and the state government’s offer of special reservation (around four to six per cent as nomadic tribe) was also brought on the table.

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Punjab mantri turns to acting

A senior Punjab Cabinet minister has taken time off from his government duties to play a central role in a soon to be released television film called Cheekh (Scream).

Master Mohan Lal, transport minister in the Parkash Singh Badal government, plays a socially-conscious retired school teacher who has decided to devote his life to ending the scourge of female foeticide.

Masterji, who is taking a break from a hectic shooting schedule at Kot Gangurai village near Ludhiana, is totally at ease in front of the camera. Before winning the Pathankot Assembly seat on a BJP ticket last year and then becoming a minister, he had played the role of Ravan in the city’s annual Ramlila for almost 25 years.

As his title suggests, he had also spent a considerable time as a government schoolteacher in the cantonment city.

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Siliguri turns into warzone, Army on call

Siliguri became a war zone on Thursday as mobs of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters and local residents fought pitched battles, as tension spread in the Darjeeling hill district.

The rioting forced West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in Kolkata to seek Army deployment, but with the situation improving later in the day the Army was asked to remain on standby. “I had a talk with Army officials and asked them to stay alert,” he said.

Flag marches were, however, held by paramilitary jawans, and in response to the state’s request New Delhi ordered the dispatch of 10 more companies — almost 1,000 men — of the CRPF, BSF and SSB. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC were imposed in Siliguri subdivision.

Rattled by the worsening crisis in the Darjeeling hills, the CM has called an allparty meeting on June 17 to find a political solution. “I request all people, in the hills and the plains, to maintain peace and amity,” he said. After the GJM sus pended its “indefinite” bandh in the hills for 60 hours, ostensibly to allow tourists to leave the area safely, some outfits like the Jan Chetna Morcha, Amra Bangali and Bangla Bhasa Bachao Samiti called a 48 hour bandh in the plains.

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Assam family buried alive for ‘witchcraft’

In a shocking incident, four members of a family were stoned and buried alive by villagers on suspicion of practising witchcraft in central Assam’s Sonitpur district.

This happened on Tuesday night at Koilajuli-Milanpur, a remote tribal village near the Assam-Arunachal border, which falls in the district’s Biswanath Chariali police station area.

The problem started after the untimely death of Bikram Majhi and Gobin Majhi after heavy bleeding through the nose. Family members accused Lakshman Majhi of killing them by casting an “evil spell”. The village head summoned Lakshman Majhi, 65, to a public meeting on Tuesday evening at the village. Hundreds of people who were at the meeting accused him of casting spells on the two villagers, who died after falling sick. He had aroused suspicion by the religious rituals he performed while visiting the ailing men, the police said.

A village “court” then held Majhi, his wife Suman, 60, son Durga, 45, and daughter-in law Sabitri, 35, “guilty” for the two deaths, and immediately started hurling stones and bricks at them. They were then dragged into the nearby jungle and buried alive, the police said.

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Top award for Munnabhai

The 54th national film awards, for 2006, were finally announced on Tuesday with Lage Raho Munnabhai walking away with four awards. The sequel to the film that celebrated Gandhigiri was chosen the best popular movie. The award fetches it the Swarna Kamal and Rs 2 lakhs for “revalidating the philosophy of non-violence in a strife torn world”.

Other categories in which the Rajkumar Hirani-directed movie bagged awards were best screenplay, best lyrics and best supporting actor for Dilip Prabhavalkar. The awards call for a double celebration for Prabhavalkar because he was selected for his work in two movies, the other being the Marathi film Shevri.

The best actor award was won by Bengali thespian Soumitro Chatterjee for “etching the agony and elation of an elderly person trying to make peace with the changing times” in Podokkhep. Priyamani won the best actress award for “portraying the ferocity of love in a fire brand village girl” in Paruthi Veeran. The best supporting actress award went to Konkona Sen Sharma for Omkara.

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Talks with Gujjars start well, today’s bandh off

The 16-day-long violent Gujjar agitation, which left at least 43 persons dead and several more injured, saw the first signs of a breakthrough on Monday after the first round of talks between the agitators and the Rajasthan government at Bayana in Bharatpur district, the epicentre of the protest.

Appearing satisfied over the way the preliminary discussions had progressed, the Gujjars, agitating for Scheduled Tribe status for their community, have decided to withdraw the nationwide bandh they had called on Tuesday.

Describing the Bayana talks as “amicable”, community leaders agreed to attend the next round of discussions in Jaipur. The leader of the agitation, Col. Kirori Singh Bainsla (Retd), who refused to participate in Monday’s discussions personally, said these talks had been “fruitful” and that he was not opposed to the idea of sending community members to Jaipur “for further discussions” with Rajasthan government representatives.

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Aarushi case:Central Bureau of investigation turns to All-India Institute of Medical Sciences for help

The CBI, tied up in knots in the Aarushi murder investigation, is now banking on forensic examination of vital clues by experts at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences to crack the case.

The CBI had earlier sought the help of AIIMS experts in the Rizwanur Rehman probe in Kolkata and the gruesome Nithari killings in Noida.

The Noida police’s failure to recover the weapons used to kill Aarushi and the family servant Hemraj, even after intensive questioning of Dr Rajesh Talwar, has put added pressure on the CBI. It is also asking forensic scientists to re-examine the post-mortem reports to determine whether these were tampered with.

Forensic experts have told the CBI that it is possible the same weapon was used to kill both victims. They feel that a Nepali khukri, with one side blunt and the other one sharp, might have been used. “If two weapons were used, then one of them could be a butcher’s knife,” Dr Sudhir Gupta, AIIMS associate professor of forensic sciences, told this newspaper.

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24 die in 2 attacks by Tigers in Lanka

At least 24 civilians were killed, nine of them women, in suspected LTTE bombings of two buses: one near Colombo on Friday morning and the second at central Kandy in the evening. President Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the “repeated acts of brutality by the LTTE in its cowardly strategy of targeting innocent civilians” and appealed to the people to stay calm and “not give in to deliberate provocation aimed at fanning communal hatred and violence”. The Tigers have not yet reacted.

According to the Lankan defence ministry, a road side clay more mine placed at a location between the Shailabimbaramya temple and the University of Moratuwa, the top engineering university in Sri Lanka, was detonated to target a packed civilian bus travelling from Kottawa to Mount Lavinia. The explosion took place around 7.30 am. The initial toll showed 22 dead and over 50 wounded.

Another bomb went off on Friday evening inside a bus at Polgolla in Kandy, about 100 km from Colombo, killing two persons and injuring 12 others. DIG Kingsley Ekanayake said a suspect had been picked up for questioning.

The military said it defused a “high-intensity” clay more at Dehiwella, close to the site where the morning blast occurred.

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Metro line under river in Kolkata

The Centre on Thursday approved a Ks 4,676-crore Metro Rail link between Howrah and Salt Lake in Kolkata, part of which will run under the Hooghly river. Kolkata's 13.77-km east-west Metro corridor was approved by the Union Cabinet. Of the total distance, 8 km will be underground and 5.77 km elevated from Howrah to Salt Lake. It will be in two phases and will be completed in six-and-a-half-years.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for implementation of the East-West Metro Corridor project, Kolkata, covering 13.77 km on standard gauge, from Howrah Station to Salt Lake Sector V at a cost of Rs 4,676 crores. The project is to be executed through a joint-venture company to be formed by the Central and the state government.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be constituted for successful execution of the project as well as its operation and maintenance. Such SPV will be a joint-venture company of the state government and the Centre. Equity participation of government of West Bengal and government of India will be on a 50:50 basis.

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Obama wins, makes history

After making history by capturing the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama turns on Wednesday to unifying a fractured party for a five month battle for the White House against Republican John McCain.

Mr Obama rocketed from political obscurity to become the first black American to win the presidential nomination of a major US party. The Illinois senator on Tuesday locked up the 2,118 delegates he needs for victory at the August convention.

Rival Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady who entered the race 17 months ago as a heavy favourite, said she would consult party leaders and supporters about her next move.

Mr Obama will be crowned the Democratic nominee at the convention in August and faces Mr McCain in November to choose a successor to President George W. Bush.

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Pakistan cricketer Asif in Dubai drug net

Another drug scandal has hit Pakistani cricket, with leading fast bowler Mohammad Asif being detained here allegedly for possessing contraband drugs while on his way home from Mumbai after participating in the Indian Premier League.

The 25-year-old pacer, intercepted on his arrival from Mumbai on Sunday, has been under detention since then at Dubai airport.

Asif, who played for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, is said to have claimed innocence, telling a Pakistani TV channel that he had been framed.

Asif reportedly said he was a bit drunk and got into an argument with airport officials, which led to a brawl and he slapped one of them. According to him, the authorities found a small quantity of shilajit, an ayurvedic medicine for boosting strength, in his wallet and charged him with possession of opium.

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Yves Saint Laurent, icon of fashion world, dies at 71

French fashion king Yves Saint Laurent, hailed for revolutionising the way women dressed, died on Sunday.

He was 71 and had been in poor health for some time.

The reclusive St. Laurent, whose couture creations secured fine art status across the world, ruled the French fashion scene from the age of 21 thanks to ground breaking designs that made him a cultural icon of the 20th century.

St. Laurent retired from haute couture in 2002 and French radio said he died at his Paris flat. French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised St. Laurent as a creative genius. "He was convinced that beauty was a luxury that every man and woman needed," Mr Sarkozy said.

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National Defence Academy: Female cadets okay

The National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla is ready to open its doors to women cadets provided the government takes a decision first on the matter, authorities at the NDA have stated.

The NDA commandant, Air Marshal T.S.Randhawa, told reporters that the academy would be more than willing to admit women cadets but that it was up to the government to take a decision on the matter. Currently the NDA admits only male cadets training to become Permanent Commission (PC) officers in the armed forces.

Women are not permitted to join as PC officers except in the Army Medical Corps, Army Dental Corps and Military Nursing Service. But they work as Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in several branches of the services. Women SSC officers currently train at the SSC academies of their respective services (like the Officers' Training Academy in the case of the Army) before joining the armed forces.

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