What does Hasina win mean for Bangladesh?

An alliance under Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won a more than two-thirds parliamentary majority in the country’s first polls in seven years, election officials said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh’s past experiences with democracy have been mixed at best, with losing parties refusing to accept results and resorting at times to violent street protests and strikes. Military figures, in and out of uniform, have sporadically stepped in, justifying their actions on the need for order.

Although main Opposition figure Begum Khaleda Zia said during the campaign the time for confrontational politics had passed, on election day she suggested she would win any fair vote, and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party complained about cheating once the polls closed.

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Israel vows ‘all-out war’

Israeli airstrikes flattened bastions of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip on Monday in the third day of an offensive that has killed more than 325 Palestinians in the deadliest violence in the territory in decades.

“We have an all-out war against Hamas and its kind,” Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak said in Parliament, using a term he has employed in the past to describe a long-term struggle against Israel’s Islamist enemies.

Broadening their targets to include the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes bombed the interior ministry, which supervises 13,000 members of the group’s security forces. The building had been evacuated and there were no casualties.

Israel also targeted the homes of at least two top commanders in Hamas’ armed wing.

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E-cards may be full of worms, viruses

Think twice before opening an e-card carrying Christmas or New Year greetings. The government’s Indian Computer Emergency Response Team has warned that a dangerous malware is circulating via emails pretending to be Christmas or New Year greetings.

Malware (malicious software) is designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent. It includes computer viruses, worms, trojans and spyware — programming that gathers information without a computer user’s permission. These spam emails come with subject lines such as “Merry Xmas!” and “Merry Christmas card for you!” With the recession on everybody’s mind, more people might prefer e cards now to save on the cost of buying paper cards plus spending on postage.

These emails contain an url which takes the user to a website hosting malware “ecard.exe”. On going to this Web page, a file “ecard.exe” is downloaded on the visitor’s system, dubbed as “Waledac (Symantec)“.

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‘No legal aid to Kasab unless citizenship proved’

Pakistan will not act on the request for legal aid by Ajmal Amir Iman, alias Ajmal Kasab, the lone gunman captured for the Mumbai attacks, unless it is proved that he is a Pakistani national, interior ministry chief Rehman Malik has said.

“There is no question of consular access unless it is proved that Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistan national,” Mr Malik told reporters on the sidelines of a function at the headquarters of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Wednesday.

“We have thoroughly checked the registration record but have not found Ajmal Kasab’s name in the Nadra database,” he said. “Therefore we are not sure whether he is a Pakistani. How we can give him consular access without having knowledge about his nationality?” Kasab has written a letter to the Pakistani authorities seeking legal aid and the appointment of a lawyer to represent him. Mr Malik had said on Tuesday that Pakistani officials were examining Kasab’s letter and would respond to it by Wednesday.

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Dutt for Lucknow Lok Sabha race?

Filmstar Sanjay Dutt is likely to be nominated as the joint Congress Samajwadi candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat. The sitting MP is former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is unlikely to contest, and the BJP is yet to name its candidate.

The actor appeared at Etawah’s Sefai Mahotsav on Monday, when he was warmly welcomed by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretary Amar Singh. The festival is organised every year by Mr Yadav’s family, and Mr Singh ensures the presence of top filmstars. This year, however, Mr Dutt, clad in a politician’s trademark khadikurta, was the only mega star present. He said Mr Yadav and Mr Singh were “like family” to him.

Congress sources said while the party didn’t want to give him a ticket due to pending cases against him, it was ready to support him as a joint candidate because of his family’s longtime party ties. Both parties feel his charisma and star power would help wrest the seat from the BJP.

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‘Kiss of death’ kills Iraqi officer

A suicide bomber on Sunday used a “kiss of death” to kill an Iraqi Army officer who was guarding a roadblock in the northern city of Mosul on Sunday, security officials said.

The bomber approached the officer with a big smile and gave him hug as if he was a friend, then blew himself up, the police officer Hamid al-Juburi said.

Another two soldiers and two civilians were wounded in the blast, Army Colonel Ahmad Saeed said.

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5 stars for Mumbai spirit

Trident at Nariman Point and the Taj Mahal Hotel’s Tower wing at Apollo Bunder here resumed partial services on Sunday, but with markedly different approaches.

While the Trident management seemed keen to stress a feeling of normalcy by welcoming any guests who wished to visit the site of the 26/11 attacks, the Taj’s “inauguration” was a high-profile do for select invitees only.

The renovated lobby of the Trident was buzzing with activity as guests were let in on Sunday morning. The now-routine baggage and body check was in place with added security officials present as well.

The hotel held a special multi-faith prayer meeting for staff and guests in the afternoon. Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal also attended this meeting.

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Television channels draw up code for self-restraint

Television channels, which came under severe criticism for the coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks, are now trying to discipline themselves and their over-zealous anchors and reporters.

The National Broadcasters Association, a regulatory body, on Thursday announced an emergency protocol of self-regulatory guidelines that includes deferred telecast of ongoing encounters, ban on live phone-ins with attackers or hostages, not showing blood and not revealing security force tactics in the event of a repeat of a 26/11 type terrorist attack in the country. The guidelines virtually toed the line issued earlier to the media by the Union I&B ministry during and after the Mumbai terror attacks.

The broadcasters had assured minister of state for I&B Anand Sharma that they would abide by the advisories issued by his ministry.

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Indian student gets life for Andhra Pradesh girl’s UK killing

Indian student Nagraj Kumar Nalloori has been found guilty of his fellow student Samrajyo Jyothirmai Vempala’s murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and will be eligible for parole only after serving 25 years in jail.

The 25-year-old student of Wolverhampton University was sentenced at Birmingham crown court on December 12. The West Midlands police has not released any details of Nalloori’s conviction and said on Wednesday that it is awaiting legal clearance for some aspects of the judgment.

Nalloori’s lawyer was unavailable for comment and so was the prosecutor in the case, Michael Burrows QC.

A resident of Vijaywada, 23-year-old Samrajyo Vempala, known as Jyothi, was found murdered at her residence at Handsworth, a suburb of Birmingham, on May 6.

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IB alert on ISI’s fake rupees

The Intelligence Bureau has alerted the CBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence that “high quality” fake Indian rupees were being printed in Karachi, Lahore Quetta and parts of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, and that it suspected that Pakistan’s InterServices Intelligence was providing technology and other assistance to the counterfeiters.

Senior ISI officials are understood to be involved in this plot, the Intelligence Bureau has warned. Most of these fake notes are believed to be of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations.

The government has sounded an alert, and the DRI and the CBI has been warned that such fake currency was likely to be smuggled into India through Dubai, Nepal, Thailand and Bangladesh.

A senior IB official said the ISI was also trying to sneak in hundreds of crores in fake Indian currency through the sea routes, particularly the ColomboChennai link, as well as by air.

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Six new obesity genes discovered

Root of obesity is in brain, and not stomach, according two new genetic studies. An international team of researchers has discovered common variations at six new sites in the human genome which influence obesity. These genes are linked to brain rather than metabolic functions like fat storage.

The genetic study by Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (Giant) Consortium has identified six new genetic variants that are associated with increased body mass index (BMI). Five of these genes are known to be active in the brain, suggesting that many genetic variants implicated in obesity might affect behaviour, rather than the chemical processes of energy or fat metabolism.

This suggests people who become overweight may be hardwired for hunger from birth or early childhood and are programmed to overeat, according to research published in the journal Nature Genetics.

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Naipaul’s brother-in-law murdered

Nobel laureate Sir Vidia Naipaul’s Pakistani brother-in-law, Maj. Gen. Amir Faisal Alvi (Retd), was murdered on November 19 in Islamabad after he had “threatened” to expose senior Pakistani Army generals who had made “deals” with Taliban militants.

Maj. Gen. Alvi, a former head of the Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group, had named two Pakistani generals in a letter to the Army Chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. He had warned in the letter that he would “furnish all relevant proofs,” according to a report in London’s Sunday Times.

Maj. Gen. Alvi was the brother of Nadira Khannum Alvi, a Pakistani journalist who went on to marry Sir Vidia and is now known as Lady Naipaul. Maj. Gen. Alvi had been mysteriously sacked by Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2005 as head of the Special Services Group for “unbecoming conduct”.

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Gehlot finds Jat support, 4 more in race

The Rajasthan Congress Legislature Party is to meet on Thursday in Jaipur to choose a new leader to be chief minister.

The Rajasthan Jat Mahasabha on Wednesday said it was not against backing Mr Ashok Gehlot for chief minister. It said it would like Mr Sis Ram Ola to be chief minister but a resolution adopted at a Mahasabha meeting added: “If the selection process for chief minister takes a different direction, then the Mahasabha supports the most popular Congress leader, Ashok Gehlot, for the post. He is also related to the farmer community. Farmers and labourers still remember the excellent work done on famine relief by Gehlot during his previous tenure.”

There are other contenders. Union minister Sis Ram Ola and Jat leader Col. Sona Ram (Retd) said they would be willing to serve as chief minister. “A leader from the farming community should be elected chief minister.

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Saudi to launch no-smoking campaign for Haj

For thousands of Muslim smokers, Haj pilgrimage this year can be a great chance to quit the habit, if they take host Saudi Arabia’s initiative seriously to make the holy cities tobacco-free.

Saudi Arabia’s health ministry has chalked out a Tobacco Control Programme (TCP) that will launch a no-smoking campaign during Haj to ensure that the two holy cities — Mecca and Medina — and other ritual sites remain tobacco free. Out of about three million pilgrims expected from various countries including India for Haj this year, an estimated seven lakh will be smokers and the TCP has printed around 1.5 million leaflets in 14 languages for distribution among pilgrims including both smokers and non-smokers. Abdullah Mohammed Bidah, the supervisor-general of the TCP, said preparations are underway to educate pilgrims about the harmful effects of smoking and other uses of tobacco.

For a pilgrim who is addicted to smoking, Haj would be the ideal time to quit the habit, he said. “As part of our campaign we coined a slogan for this Haj — ‘Make Arafat Day, a Quit Smoking Day’.

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Will women break 1972 poll record?

There has been an increase in the number of women participating in the seven-phased Assembly elections of Jammu and Kashmir. However, it remains to be seen whether the 36-year-old record for the highest number of women would be broken.

It was in 1972 that four women were elected to the state legislature, which still remains the highest figure for women MLAs in the state. First three phases of polls have already been held in the state in which as many as ten women candidates were in the fray. A large number are expected to contest in the remaining phases.

Shilpa Verma, a woman candidate of Bishnah Legislative Assembly Constituency, going to polls in the seventh phase, said that women understand the problems of fellow women and their participation should be encouraged.

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Amar gives ‘third’ angle to Deeg fight

Deeg, the first capital carved out for the erstwhile Jat rulers, is witnessing an interesting fight between the scion of the erstwhile royal family, Vishvendra Singh, and industry minister Digambar Singh. But the BSP’s Amar Singh has made it triangular.

“Wo hamare raja hain,” says Soran Singh, a villager in Kumher town, which is part of the newly created Deeg Kumher constituency. Mr Singh had parted ways with the ruling BJP alleging tickets were sold by the BJP and resigned as political adviser to chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

Industry minister Digambar Singh is considered Mr Vishvendra Singh’s foe in the politics of eastern Rajasthan. When the BJP had declared the industry minister its candidate from Deeg, it annoyed Mr Vishvendra Singh.

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Poisoning kills 11 girls at school

Eleven girls died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a school in northern China’s Shaanxi province, an education official said on Tuesday evening.

A news report said the girls had lit a fire to keep warm. A dozen girls were found poisoned on Tuesday morning at the Duiziliang Middle School in Yulin city, said an official with the Yulin Education Bureau, who gave her family name as Fan.

She said 11 girls were confirmed dead, with another being treated at a hospital.

Fan, reached by phone, said she had no further details. Telephone calls to Yulin’s Public Security Bureau rang unanswered on Tuesday evening.

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How Television news stars won war

India’s best-known television journalists appear to have finally beaten Ekta Kapoor in the battle for TRPs. In six days flat. The all-out war witnessed editors being paradropped, reporters lying prostrate on the ground when not blaring into the cameras, and a thousand “breaking stories” every day.

Here’s how the TRPs were garnered, shot by shot, starting around 10.30 pm on Wednesday, November 26:

• Close in on the woman in tears — show her from every possible angle and deliver a soul-wrenching commentary of what might be going through her mind.
• Repeatedly flash shots of the adorable, crying child. Shove your mike in his face. Oh! hasn’t learnt to talk yet, not even Yiddish? Ask the woman carrying the child how she rescued him from the carnage.

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Target Islamabad

The government came under increasing pressure on Sunday to take decisive action in the wake of the November 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, as the clamour for suspending the five-year-old composite dialogue process with Pakistan grew louder.

With the Opposition parties upping the ante and seeking appropriate measures to deter Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was weighing his options so that his government was seen to be doing its utmost in the runup to the general elections.

The government, fighting off demands to suspend all confidence building measures such as rail and air links with Pakistan, is understood to have put the Indian cricket team’s forthcoming tour of Pakistan on hold.

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