Bihar: 2 killed, 15 injured in Ara court blast, 2 prisoners escape

A woman and a police constable were killed and 15 injured in a crude bomb explosion on Ara civil court premises in Bihar’s Bhojpur district on Friday, triggering alarm ahead of Republic Day.

A few hours after the blast at 11.35am, police ruled out a terror link, saying it was more likely aimed at aiding some undertrial prisoners escape. Two of them did.

Undertrial prisoners Lambu Sharma and Akhilesh Upadhyay escaped after the blast, taking advantage of the chaos.

Police suspect the woman killed in the blast had carried the bomb. Her identity has not been established. Her body was blown to pieces. “This shows she was closest to the impact site,” said a police official.

The deceased constable was named as Amit Kumar, 25.

A senior police officer said the woman might have had some links with some prisoner. “It is a matter of investigation.”

Bihar chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh said, “The blast took place while the bomb was being passed on to an intended person, apparently, for the release of some prisoner or prisoners. It went off prematurely, it seems.”

He dismissed initial talk of “human bomb” and “suicide bomber”.

Additional director general of police (headquarters) Gupteshwar Pandey said the explosion took place when a van carrying undertrials for production in the court entered the premises. The undertrials were being taken to the court lock-up.

“The woman was apparently carrying the bomb. It was a crude bomb,” he said, ruling out the possibility of the blast being a terror attack.

Bhojpur district magistrate Pankaj Kumar Pal said some lawyers were among the injured. “We have come to know of (injuries to) three lawyers. Some police officials have also sustained injuries. The injured have been taken to the local civil hospital,” he added.

The blast in Ara, about 60km west off capital Patna, initially rattled the state administration.

Apart from the general state of preparedness for Republic Day, police were also on their toes for two meetings to be addressed in the state during the day by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah.

Bihar police did not take chances given that serial blasts had rocked Gandhi Maidan in Patna during Narendra Modi’s (then the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate) Hunkar rally in October 2013

Mosquito-sized robots that steal samples of your DNA

Imagine a world where mosquito-sized robots fly around stealing samples of your DNA.

Or where a department store knows from your buying habits that you’re pregnant even before your family does.

That is the terrifying dystopian world portrayed by a group of Harvard professors at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, where the assembled elite heard that the notion of individual privacy is effectively dead

‘Welcome to today. We’re already in that world,’ said Margo Seltzer, a professor in computer science at Harvard University.

‘Privacy as we knew it in the past is no longer feasible… How we conventionally think of privacy is dead,’ she added

Another Harvard researcher into genetics said it was ‘inevitable’ that one’s personal genetic information would enter more and more into the public sphere.

Sophia Roosth said intelligence agents were already asked to collect genetic information on foreign leaders to determine things like susceptibility to disease and life expectancy.

‘We are at the dawn of the age of genetic McCarthyism,’ she said, referring to witch-hunts against Communists in 1950s America.

What’s more, Seltzer imagined a world in which tiny robot drones flew around, the size of mosquitoes, extracting a sample of your DNA for analysis by, say, the government or an insurance firm.

Invasions of privacy are ‘going to become more pervasive,’ she predicted

Settler runs over 5-year-old Palestinian near Tulkarem

TULKAREM (Ma’an) — A settler car ran over a five-year-old Palestinian child near Tulkarem on Friday, medics said.

Yamen Nabil Mahmoud, five, from Shufa village was hit by the vehicle on a bypass road south of the West Bank city.

The child was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where he is said to be in a moderate condition.

The circumstances behind the incident are unclear.

In December, a 10-year-old Palestinian boy was injured after an Israeli settler ran him over on the main road of the Palestinian village of Tuqu south east of Bethlehem.

Months earlier, a settler ran over two Palestinian children as they walked near near Ramallah, killing five-year-old Einas Khalil

Afghan demonstrators slam Charlie Hebdo sacrilegious cartoon

Thousands of people have staged separate demonstrations in Afghanistan to condemn the recent publication of a blasphemous cartoon of Islam’s Prophet Mohammad by the French weekly magazine, Charlie Hebdo.

At least 20,000 flooded the streets in the western Afghan city of Herat, located 810 kilometers (503 miles) west of the capital, Kabul, after Friday prayers. The demonstrators set French flags ablaze, chanted slogans against French officials, and called upon the government in Paris to apologize to Muslims for Charlie Hebdo’s sacrilegious move.

“No Muslim can tolerate insults to our beloved Prophet Mohammed, we demand the French government apologize to all Muslims and punish those who have insulted Islam,” one protester said.

Protesters staged a similar rally in Kabul, where a number of demonstrators hurled stones at the French embassy. The assault prompted security forces standing guard at the site to fire one or two warning shots.

In the recent past, angry protesters in other countries, including Niger, Yemen, Pakistan, as well as the Indian-controlled Kashmir region have staged similar demonstrations to condemn Charlie Hebdo.

On January 14, the French magazine, whose Paris office was attacked by two gunmen on January 7, once again published a cartoon of the Prophet on the cover of its new edition despite warnings that the move is provocative.

The January 7 attack is largely believed to have been launched over Charlie Hebdo’s previous cartoons of the Prophet.

The weekly has repeatedly provoked Muslim anger by publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an extremist militant group based in Yemen, claimed responsibility for the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

MP/HMV/SS

Adam Clayton: 'We've won the game and beaten Man City - days don't get any better than this'

Boro’s midfield general Adam Clayton admitted days “don’t get better than this” after Aitor Karanka’s men earned a 2-0 win at Premier League champions Manchester City.

Second half goals from Patrick Bamford and Kike earned the Championship high-flyers a dream FA Cup victory at the Etihad Stadium.

The win will have meant even more to Manchester-born Clayton,who made an emotional return to the club he watched as a schoolboy and signed for when he was just seven.

After the match Boro’s battling midfielder admitted it was a glorious day for Boro, and said the calming influence of Premier League veterans Dean Whitehead and Jonathan Woodgate was crucial to the team’s win.

“It’s a great day, we’ve won the game and beaten Man City so for the day it doesn’t get any better.

“There was belief (that we could come here and win). Obviously you’re coming to City which is always a massive test but we have the likes of Dean Whitehead who has been here many times before and knows the mentality.

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“He and Jonathan Woodgate were telling us to believe. We did that and we did well.

“We didn’t really thought about the game too much until we beat Cardiff on Tuesday, it hadn’t come into our thoughts too much. I think that was a good thing because you can build up pressure before a game like this.

“It’s a good feeling, we’re winning games and up near the top of the league, We just need to keep focused and keep working as hard for each other as we have been.”

Middlesbrough's Patrick Bamford celebrates after scoring Boro's first goal.

Boro’s win means they will be in the hat for Monday’s FA Cup fifth round draw, but Karanka will now turn his side’s attention to a lunchtime showdown with Brentford in the Championship next weekend.

Upon moving to Teesside in the summer Clayton was clear about this season’s objective - and despite toppling his former side, he says nothing has changed.

“I moved to Middlesbrough because I want to play in the Premier League and that’s our aim. Hopefully we can do it.”

US President Obama follows wrong ‘British PM’ David Cameron on Twitter

US President Barack Obama may call the British Prime Minister his ‘bro’ but follows the wrong David Cameron, a computer game lover, on Twitter.

US President Barack Obama may call the British Prime Minister his ‘bro’ but follows the wrong David Cameron, a computer game lover, on Twitter.

Obama follows 645,000 people on Twitter and by contrast David Cameron follows 382 people, including Obama.

Instead of following @david_cameron, the Prime Minister’s official personal account, ‘Organizing For Action’ which runs Obama’s account has been watching the tweets of @davidcameron, who lives in Oregon and tweets about Star Trek, Telegraph reported.

Earlier this month Obama hailed Cameron, saying: “Put simply, David is a great friend and outstanding partner.

“He’s one of my closest and most trusted partners in the world.On many of the most pressing challenges that we face, we see the world the same way.”

But it seems that Obama’s affection for his ‘bro’ David Cameron does not extend to social media, the report said.

–PTI

Hindu Mahasabha to Khans: convert if you love your wives

The Hindu Mahasabha has fired its latest salvo at Bollywood’s top Khans.

The Hindutva outfit, in an editorial in its weekly publication Hindu Sabha Varta, has challenged Shahrukh Khan, Amir Khan and Saif Ali Khan to convert to Hinduism if they “really love their wives”. Shahrukh Khan is married to Gauri Khan, Amir Khan to Kiran Rao and Saif Ali Khan to Kareena Kapoor.

Besides the three actors, the editorial targets Fardeen Khan and Imran Hashmi for marrying Hindus.

When contacted Munna Kumar Singh, the editor and publisher of the weekly, said: “It is our challenge to these Khans of Bollywood if they actually love their wives then they should also try to convert to Hinduism and adopt their religion and culture.”

Asked why one needed to look at the world, let alone Bollywood, through the prism of religious identity, Mr. Singh said that there existed a conspiracy against Hindus and the Hindu country.

He described Sharmila Tagore, Kareena Kapoor, Gauri, Kiran Rao, Rina Dutt and Gauri Chhibbar as victims” of “love jihad”.

The outfit also supported the VHP move of using a morphed image of Kareena Kapoor in a burqa to “alert” Hindu women.

India: Human Rights activist Irom Sharmila re-arrested in Manipur

Imphal (Manipur), January 24:

Human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila has re-arrested after a local court rejected her charges of attempt to suicide and ordered her immediate release from custody.

The activist was released from a state hospital after a court found no evidence to support earlier charges filed by state prosecutors over her alleged attempt to commit suicide by refusing food.

After walking out free, Sharmila again began her fast through the night. She was examined by a team of doctors from the government hospital. She was asked by the police to go to a hospital but she refused.

She is in a government hospital under police watch where she is force-fed through the nose.

Sharmila, known as the Iron Lady of Manipur, began her fast in November 2000 after ten people were killed in a shooting at a bus stop near her home in Manipur. Activists blame the army for the killings but no arrests have been made in case. (ANI)

Most Padma awards for BJP campaigners or Saffronists

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP member L K Advani, Yoga guru Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravishankar, Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar are among the various personalities who are likely to be conferred the Padma awards this Republic Day.

While Ramdev has been closely associated with the Sangh Parivar and campaigned for the BJP in the run up to 2014 polls, Ravishankar has been an active supporter of PM Narendra Modi. Amitabh Bachchan has been brand ambassador of Gujarat for several years now, having been roped in when Modi was still the state chief minister.

Seer of the Tulsi Peeth and Sanskrit scholar Rambhadracharya, whom Narendra Modi nominated for Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan, and founder of Bharat Mata Mandir in Haridwar Swami Satyamitranand are also among prospective awardees.

Senior journalists Rajat Sharma and Swapan Dasgupta are also expected to be conferred the award among personalities from the media.

Other probables include creator of Chacha Chaudhary cartoonist Pran, who will be given the award posthumously, Salman Khan’s father Salim Khan, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, who wrote poll campaign poems for the BJP, wrestler Sushil Kumar and Niti Aayog member Bibek Debroy. Names of Hindustani classical vocalist Girija Devi, violinist L Subramanium (who played at the gala event organized in the US on Modi visit), music directors Anu Malik and Ravindra Jain are also among those likely to figure in the Padma list.

The Padma list is usually finalized by the Prime Minister’s Office a day or two before they are announced on the eve of Republic Day. The Prime Minister may or may not make changes to the list, which is finalized by a Padma Awards Committee constituted each year. The committee goes by the recommendations received within a stipulated deadline, and also takes into account intelligence inputs on whether there are any pending police complaints or court cases against the shortlisted candidates.

Once the President approves the Padma list, the awardees are intimated by a senior officer of the Union home ministry and their consent taken for the award to be conferred on them. Only then is the list released by the Union home ministry.

Meanwhile, the Union home ministry on Friday stated in a release that it was yet to announce the Padma Awards for the year 2015. The announcement, it said, was made on January 25 every year.

“The names appearing in the media are speculative and there is no official confirmation for the same,” said the home ministry release.

Gujarat: Circular to hold ‘Saraswati Vandana’ stirs controversy; Muslims express displeasure

The Ahmedabad School Board has whipped up a controversy with its circular asking all schools to hold ‘Saraswati Vandana’ on Vasant Panchami tomorrow, drawing accusations of promoting ruling BJP’s Hindutva agenda and warnings of legal action and protest by Congress.

“Vasant Panchami is the occasion to remember Goddess of knowledge Maa Saraswati Devi. To make students understand the importance of education, schools need to organize Saraswati Puja and make students recite prayers of Saraswati during prayer gathering. Also, make them understand how Vasant Panchami is celebrated in other states,” reads the January 19 circular issued by the board.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) School Board runs around 450 primary schools in the city, including 64 Urdu medium schools, mostly in Muslim dominated areas attended by around 16,000 students from the minority community.

The circular has raised the hackles of opposition Congress, which has dubbed the move as an attack on the fundamental rights of Muslims. All forms of idolatry is prohibited in Islam.

Congress councillor from Sarkhej ward Haji Mirza Baig called it an attempt to promote the BJP’s Hindutva agenda.

“In a democracy, everyone has the right to follow their religion and related rituals. This circular is an attack on the freedom of not only Muslims, but also of other religions. Why (do) they want Muslim students to perform puja? It should not be made compulsory in Urdu schools,” said Baig.

Amid the mounting outcry over its circular, the board attempted a damage control with its chairman claiming it was not intended to hurt anybody’s religious sentiments.

“Our sole aim is to promote the quest for knowledge among children and not to hurt the followers of any religion,” Jagdish Bhavsar, chairman of the board, said.

“Everybody prays and worships in his own way. If they are not comfortable with offering prayers to Saraswati, they can do ‘Ibadat’ (worship) in their own way. The only aim of this circular is to make children aware of the importance of education,” he said.

AMC School Board’s administrator L D Desai appeared to defend the move, saying, “Saraswati is the goddess of education and schools are temples of education for students of all religions. Thus, we just want students to understand the importance of education by remembering the goddess through prayer on that day.”

Describing it as an “educational and not religious” programme, Desai said,”There is absolutely no controversy. None of the Urdu medium schools have approached us against this programme.”

–PTI

Saudi Arabia’s Billionaire King Buried in Unmarked Grave

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — There were no golden carriages.

The funeral of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, whose death was announced early on Friday, was a simple affair in line with the austere form of Islam practiced by one of the world’s wealthiest ruling families.

The body of the former custodian of Islam’s two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, was bathed according to Islamic ritual. The late ruler, whose net worth has been estimated to stand at around $20 billion, was wrapped in two pieces of plain white cloth — the standard shroud for all Muslims.

According to tradition, nothing out of the ordinary was done to King Abdullah’s body, and after it was prepared it was be taken to the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in the capital Riyadh for the funeral prayers at around 3:15 p.m. (7:15 a.m. ET)

Middlesbrough households to benefit from new flood warning service

More than 1,600 homes in Middlesbrough are to benefit from a new flood warning service.

The service goes live on February 25 and will protect properties adjacent to the Marton West Beck, Ormesby Beck, Middle Beck and Newham Beck.

It is the first warning service specifically for the Middlesbrough Becks.

The free service alerts households of flooding by phone, email or text message.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “It’s the first step towards making the community more flood resilient – providing time for people to prepare before the onset of flooding so the impacts to property, people and communities can be reduced.”

Phil Welton, the agency’s area flood and coastal risk manager, said: “Communities at risk of flooding from the Middlesbrough becks have not been provided a warning service until now.

“We are keen to promote the benefits of the warnings for the people of Middlesbrough, and so will be working closely with Middlesbrough Council and other local stakeholders to encourage people to sign up to the service.”

For more information on flood alerts and to sign up call Floodline 03459881188 or visit http://bit.ly/1yc3D38 .

Boycott of French products suggested

Some Saudis and expatriates have called for a campaign to boycott French products because of the offending cartoons published by the Charlie Hebdo magazine last week.

“It is necessary to boycott French food products and perfumes and hit the French economy because they are ignoring the feelings of Muslims by publishing blasphemous cartoons. It is the best solution to defend Islam and our Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him),” said a message posted by one user on various social networking sites.

The messages on several websites include the names of popular French products available on local shelves that citizens and expatriate consumers should boycott. Adel Hassan, a Saudi, said he plans to participate in the boycott. “Yes, I will stop buying French products because of the ongoing blasphemous cartoons against Islam.”

He said the French have “forgotten” that they have many companies exporting products to Saudi Arabia. He said customers must ensure these products are “dumped into the garbage” by not buying them. Meanwhile, Jordanian social media users have launched a campaign calling for the boycott of French products, entitled “Boycott France.”

Activists are urging action against French investments in the country including Total-affiliated gas stations and Carrefour markets, according to a report published Sunday. Organizers of the initiative, which has reportedly attracted more than 4,000 people on Facebook, said the campaign seeks to place pressure on France to put an end to the publication of “offensive cartoons.”

Emad Kareem, a public relations practitioner at a local agency, told Arab News that some French companies have hired public relations companies to deal with the backlash from Muslim consumers.

He said several French companies have launched campaigns to improve their image so that they can reduce the impact on their sales from a boycott. “There are some French companies, especially in Arab Gulf countries that import French food products, that are saying they condemn abuse of religions and Charlie Hebdo’s blasphemous cartoons,” said Kareem.

“If there is a widespread a boycott of French products, companies will have to deal with public relations agencies to manage this crisis.” He said there is no evidence yet that there has been any effect on sales of French products in Saudi Arabia

Prince Charles and David Cameron flying to Saudi Arabia to pay tribute to King Abdullah

The Prince of Wales and Prime Minister David Cameron are flying to Saudi Arabia today to join international figures paying respect in person to the royal family following the death of King Abdullah and flags have been lowered on key public buildings in London.

But the decision to fly them at half mast has drawn sharp criticism from some prominent politicians over abuses of free speech, women's rights and the country's role as cradle of Islamist extremism.

Abdullah, thought to be aged about 90, died on Thursday after two decades in power in the world's biggest oil exporter. He has been succeeded by his 79-year-old half-brother, Salman.

Fiona Hanson/PA Wire

The Prince of Wales receiving King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at Clarence House, London in 2007

Aitor Karanka: 'Boro have not broken the bank to plot promotion charge'

Head coach Aitor Karanka has shrugged off suggestions that Boro have broken the bank to assemble their promotion-chasing squad this season.

The Spaniard is plotting an FA Cup upset at free-spending Manchester City this afternoon, with Boro set to lock horns with a star-studded side assembled at a cost of more than £200m.

Boro’s summer business can hardly be compared to the likes of City, who were this week ranked sixth in the Deloitte football rich list, but Karanka did spend more than £4m on the signings of Kike Garcia and Adam Clayton.

When asked if Boro had pumped all of their resources into clinching Premier League promotion this year, Karanka argued the only funds spent have been those recouped from recent departures.

“We haven’t spent that much money,” Karanka said.

“All the players we’ve brought here are from the money we’ve brought in from selling (Lukas) Jutkiewicz and (Marvin) Emnes.

“Everybody always says ‘it’s Boro, Boro are spending’, but we haven’t spent much.

“The money we have spent was on Clayton and Kike, and that was the same amount we sold.

“We have a very good squad and the salary level is pretty much what we had last season, so the team’s doing really well and they believe in the project.

“All the players who are here wanted to come here and that’s pleasing. They’ve not just come for money, it’s because they believed in the project.”

Boro’s task at the Etihad Stadium couldn’t be tougher this afternoon, with Manuel Pellegrini vowing to play a strong team after last weekend’s drab defeat to Arsenal.

But Karanka admitted his side’s preparation for today’s match has been easier than usual.

“Man City are probably the easiest side to scout because they are on TV every week,” Karanka added.

“We have so much information on them so it’s not difficult to see how they set up. Analysing them is not the problem - the problem is to play against them.

“This sort of game is great for the fans, It’s five or six years since they were in the Premier League so it’s going to be special to remember the days that Boro were there.

“We can all go and enjoy it and hopefully we’ll get there and play there again in the future.

Climate change brings world closer to ‘doomsday’: Scientists

WASHINGTON: Climate change and the danger of nuclear war pose an ever-growing threat to civilization and are bringing the world closer to doomsday, a group of prominent scientists and Nobel laureates said on Thursday.

“It is now three minutes to midnight,” said Kennette Benedict, executive director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as the group moved its symbolic “Doomsday Clock” two minutes forward.

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947. It has changed 18 times since then, ranging from two minutes to midnight in 1953 to 17 minutes before midnight in 1991.

The clock has been at five minutes to midnight since 2012 and the last time it was three minutes to midnight was in 1983, during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

“Today, unchecked climate change and a nuclear arms race resulting from modernization of huge arsenals pose extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity,” Benedict said.

“And world leaders have failed to act with the speed or on the scale required to protect citizens from potential catastrophe.”

The scientists called on people to demand action from their leaders to curb fossil fuel pollution and to stop developing ever more modern nuclear weapons that are endangering the planet.

“We are not saying it is too late to take action, but the window for action is closing rapidly. The world needs to be awakened from its lethargy and start making changes,” Benedict said.

Such actions should cap greenhouse gas emissions at levels sufficient to keep average global temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the group said

Turkey declares national day of mourning for Saudi King

Turkey declared the day of Saturday as national day of mourning over the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.

“As a sign of mourning, all flags would be lowered to half-staff across the country and in all of our foreign diplomatic representations on the day,” the Turkish Prime Ministry Press Center said Friday, reported Xinhua.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delayed a planned trip to Somalia to attend the funeral of King Abdullah.

–IANS