IT industry sees up to 20% growth next fiscal

The country’s $50-billion software services export sector, which has been in the doldrums following the global economic crisis, could expand by 15-20% next financial year on the back of improved demand. This would be three times the 4-7% growth that industry body Nasscom predicts for the current fiscal.

Though Nasscom is slated to formally release its projections for next fiscal on Wednesday, top IT companies’ CEOs like S Gopalakrishnan of Infosys Technologies (INFOSYS.BO : 2352.2 -71) and Girish Paranjpe of Wipro (WIPRO.NS : 644.05 -11.15) told FE they expect growth in the 15-20% range next fiscal. This is in line with Nasscom’s forecast of double-digit growth in 2011-12, although the body has not furnished specific numbers so far.

Although most clients of Indian IT firms are yet to firm up their technology spends, Gopalakrishnan said initial indications were that budgets would be up 4% next year. “Even the offshore component in deals will be slightly up,” he said.

This is major change in sentiment. Hitherto, Infosys had said it expects IT budgets to remain flat or marginally down next year. The country’s second-largest software firm reported a 3.6% drop in net profit for the quarter ended December 31 at Rs 1,582 crore. Currency factors contributed to the decline.

Girish Paranjpe, joint CEO of Wipro’s IT business, said though his company does not provide a full-year outlook, “Growth is on track thanks to a mix of both large and small deals.” The country’s third-largest IT firm reported a 21% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,217 crore, compared with the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

The country’s largest software firm, TCS, however, saw the most significant rise in December-quarter net profit-33% year-on-year–at Rs 1,824 crore.

Most technology companies, including mid-tier firms, posted robust results for the third quarter thanks to a recovery in key markets such as the US and in key verticals like financial services. While the recovery was earlier restricted to deals emerging from mergers & acquisitions in the banking space, the growth in volumes is more broad-based now with the exception of telecom and manufacturing, in some cases.

“The demand environment is better than before; confidence is back in the market and we believe the worst is behind us. All our clients have delivered good financials in the third quarter and we expect decision-making to be faster now,” said Gopalakrishnan.

For the next financial year, Paranjpe added that the industry’s growth could be around 14-15%, the basis of which is a poll of IT companies’ outlook conducted by Nasscom about two months ago, he said. Though a Nasscom spokesperson said it conducts several such surveys a year, she refused to authenticate the numbers.

Meanwhile, Gopalakrishnan said Nasscom projections are usually higher than the industry’s as they also take into account growth in captive units, which often register a much higher growth than their third-party peers.

A R Rahman Misses Oscar This Time!

After A R Rahman’s triumphant victory of two Grammy Golden Gramophones, he had to suffer a great disaster when his song ‘Na na’ got eliminated from the nomination list in the original song category for the 82nd Academy Awards.
 
In the Hollywood debut venture ‘Couple’s Retreat’ his song ‘Na na’ was one of the sixty two songs which got selected for the Oscar nomination round. As fate was not in his favor this time Rahman had to bow out to ‘Almost there’ (The Princess And The Frog), ‘Down in new Orleons’ (The Princess And The Frog), ‘Loin de Paname’ (Paris 36), ‘Take it all’ (Nine) and ‘The weary Kind’ (Crazy Heart) which got selected in the nomination round.
 
This time the 44-year-old singer-composer who was listedin the category of nomination list for Oscar Award had to suffer a great disappointment for not being able to make it in the entry round of nomination after the success of golden jack pot at the 52nd Grammy Award.
 
It was for his music in the Danny Boyle film ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ he made his mark as the first Indian to win Grammy award title.
 
It was not alone Rahman’s dream to make a mark at the Oscar Award this year but even his eight year old son was also associated with him. The track ‘Na na’ is the debut of Rahman’s eight-year- old son A R Ameen and it also features Rahman, Blaaze, Chaix, Clinton and Dominic.
 
Well, Rahman your talent will never go wasted : only that we need to wait for some more time!

Turkish girl ‘buried alive’ in family garden

A Turkish teenager found dead in a hole next to her house was probably buried alive, a post-mortem examination has revealed.

Medine Memi, 16, was found in the hole in December. Large amounts of soil were in her lungs and stomach, according to a source who has seen the report.

Her father and grandfather have been arrested, but not charged.

So-called “honour killings” take place every year in Turkey despite government moves to stamp out the practice.

Two months after police found Medine’s body buried in the garden of her family home, a team of doctors at a university in Malatya has completed the post-mortem examination.

According to a source who has seen their report, there was only minor bruising on her body, and no evidence of her being drugged.

Concrete covered

Her hands had been tied behind her back, and they discovered large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach.

The autopsy has concluded that she was almost certainly buried alive.

The police went to her home after a neighbour reported that Medine had not been seen for a month.

They found her body in a hole, newly covered with concrete, next to the hen-house.

A local organisation that campaigns against honour killings said the victim, one of 10 children, had gone three times to the police to complain that she was being beaten, but she was sent back to her family each time.

A member of the organisation visited Medine’s mother a few days after her body was found, but she was too distraught to give them much information.

Conservative community

Medine, who had never been to school, lived in Kahta, a town in the mainly Kurdish south-east of Turkey, where most honour killings have taken place.

The town is known for being very conservative and religious; it is a stronghold of the once powerful Naksibendi Islamic sect, which was banned by modern Turkey’s founding father Ataturk in 1925 but has revived in recent years.

But while it is true that most such killings are carried out in conservative Muslim communities, the practice is linked more to the customs of this region of Turkey, than to religious belief.

When girls or women are deemed to have stained the family honour, by behaviour as innocent as simply talking to boys, there is strong peer pressure from the community on the male members of the family to restore their honour, say groups working on the issue in the south-east.

The only way allowed by their code is to kill the girl or woman – usually a young man is given the task after a family council meeting, and the method and location of the killing are discussed in detail.

Emotional state

Afterwards, the family will try to pretend she never existed.

The government has tried to curb the practice by changing the guidance given to judges.

In the case of honour killings they are no longer allowed to use mitigating factors like the accused’s emotional state to reduce sentences.

But this has so far had a limited impact.

According the statistics from the prime minister’s office, there were 16 honour killings in Medine’s province of Adiyaman between 2003 and 2007.

NGOs say the official figures are almost certainly too low.

Last year a Turkish man was sentenced to life imprisonment in London for the murder of his 15-year-old daughter a decade earlier. Her body has never been found.

Ash Commands (B)Rai…ght Fee!

They’re jaw dropping… and as awe inspiring as the ones who command them. Star prices, that is! Even as the industry is abuzz with the seven crore fee being doled out to Kareena Kapoor… comes the pricey news that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has beaten her in the remuneration game.
Reportedly, Ash is being lavished with a whopping 10 crores! The venture produced by Bobby Pushkarna (‘Page3’) will spotlight the international icon in a realistic opus along the lines of ‘Provoked.’
A close insider states that Pushkarna has been chasing Rai for close to three months, valiantly asserting that if the Bachchan bahu turns down his proposal…he will scrap the project. Period.
Rai has three projects in her kitty: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’, Vipul Shah’s ‘Action Replay’ and Shankar’s ‘Robot.’ And a reliable source avers that she’s scanning the script before voicing her decision. Ash per her wish.

Abhishek, Salman, Kajol and Bipasha speak up for SRK

Mumbai, Feb 5 (Agency) Prominent Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kajol and Bipasha Basu today came out openly in support of Shah Rukh Khan, who has come under attack by the Shiv Sena for backing the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the upcoming IPL.

Abhishek, the first from the Bachchan family to have broken the silence over the issue, “All that has been happening over the past few days is very unfortunate and sad! I believe that sports, arts and culture should be above politics,” Abhishek wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter. “My family and I have faced many such incidents in the past.

And all I wish for is peace and harmony to prevail over all citizens,” he added. Salman Khan, who is said to be not on cordial terms with SRK, too defended him, saying he has not said anything which is wrong.

“What should he apologize for? ”My Name is Khan” should be released for sure. It has to.

As an industry we pay huge entertainment tax to the government and we entertain the people also. We don”t think like politicians.

I anyway don”t understand this whole thing of taking a morcha and going to somebody’’s house,” he said. Kajol, who is in London now with SRK for the promotion of their new film, assured her fans that the film will be released as scheduled on February 12, notwithstanding the threat from the Sena which has warned cinema owners against its screening.

Mumbai, Feb 5 (Agency) Prominent Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kajol and Bipasha Basu today came out openly in support of Shah Rukh Khan, who has come under attack by the Shiv Sena for backing the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the upcoming IPL. Abhishek, the first from the Bachchan family to have broken the silence over the issue, “All that has been happening over the past few days is very unfortunate and sad! I believe that sports, arts and culture should be above politics,” Abhishek wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter. “My family and I have faced many such incidents in the past.
And all I wish for is peace and harmony to prevail over all citizens,” he added. Salman Khan, who is said to be not on cordial terms with SRK, too defended him, saying he has not said anything which is wrong.
“What should he apologize for? ”My Name is Khan” should be released for sure. It has to.
As an industry we pay huge entertainment tax to the government and we entertain the people also. We don”t think like politicians.
I anyway don”t understand this whole thing of taking a morcha and going to somebody’’s house,” he said. Kajol, who is in London now with SRK for the promotion of their new film, assured her fans that the film will be released as scheduled on February 12, notwithstanding the threat from the Sena which has warned cinema owners against its screening.

Chennai has highest number of obese persons in India: Minister

IT Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna has urged the youth to make informed choices about what they eat.

Launching a Smart Choice Café at Women’s Christian College (WCC), she stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy diet as the benefits of education would be neutralised if the youth grew up into unhealthy adults.

According to Dr. Poongothai, Chennai had the highest number of obese persons in India. The prevalence of obesity was, in fact, more than in even some developed countries.

The Minister said studies had found that obesity led to psychosomatic problems along with physical discomfiture. She called for efforts to curb obesity, which was a preventable disorder.

Without advocating one type of food over another, Dr. Poongothai urged students to “enjoy food but stay within limits.”

Pepsico is piloting the café project under its Performance with Purpose initiative. The WCC café is the country’s first.

The project exemplifies a meaningful partnership and sets up a platform to build relationships with young nutrition students by providing a hands-on experience, said George A. Mensah, Director, Heart Health and Global Health Policy, Global R&D, Pepsico International.

Teaming up with partners such as the WCC can create a greater impact, he said.

The café had potential to improve the lifestyle of students and helping them maintain fitness levels, WCC principal Ridling Margaret Waller said. The café seeks to help institutes create environments that encourage and provide access to healthy eating thereby enabling students of nutrition to turn good health ambassadors.

Being involved with such a project should provide a practical orientation for nutrition students, said Gomathy Shivaji, coordinator, Centre for Nutrition Counselling, Research and Extension under the WCC’s Home Science Department.

Pepsico will study feedback from the WCC café before reaching out to other colleges that have nutrition in the curriculum, Mallika Janakiraman, vice-president, health and wellness, Pepsico India, said.

Emma Watson has emerged as the highest paid actress in Hollywood

‘Harry Potter’ star Emma Watson has emerged as the highest paid actress in Hollywood in a new list compiled by a magazine.

The 19-year-old actress has been raked ahead of established stars such as Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston on the list by ‘Vanity Fair’.

Watson’s income was put at USD 30 million in the list of Hollywood’s top 40 earners compiled by the magazine, as she was paid USD 15 million each for the ‘Harry Potter’ series, ‘The Deathly Hallows I and II’.

She took the 14th position in the overall table and is the youngest person, male or female, to appear.

Two other Harry Potter stars, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe, also feature on the list. Grint comes right after Watson with the 15th position in the overall list, while Radcliffe has taken the sixth place with an income of USD 41 million.

The top five in a total of 40 names were of leading directors in Hollywood starting off with Michael Bay.

Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg took the second place, followed by Roland Emmerich and James Cameron.

‘Hangover’ director Todd Philips came in the fifth position. After Watson, Diaz was the second female to feature on the list with an income of USD 27 million, followed by ‘Sex and the City’ star Sarah Jessica Parker who earned USD 24 million in 2009.

The top 20 in the Hollywood top earners list as compiled by Vanity Fair is as follows:

Top 10 male earners in 2009:

1. Michael Bay, producer-director (USD 125 million)

2. Steven Spielberg, producer-director (USD 85 million)

3. Roland Emmerich, producer-director (USD 70 million)

4. James Cameron, producer-director (USD 50 million)

5. Todd Phillips, director (USD 44 million)

6. Daniel Radcliffe, actor (USD 41 million)

7. Ben Stiller, actor (USD 40 million)

8. Tom Hanks, actor (USD 36 million)

9. J J Abrams, producer-director (USD 36 million)

10. Jerry Bruckheimer, producer (USD 35.5 million)

Top female earners in 2009:

1. Emma Watson, actress (USD 30million)

2. Cameron Diaz, actress (USD 27million)

3. Sarah Jessica Parker, actress (USD 24million)

4. Katherine Heigl, actress (USD 24million)

5. Reese Witherspoon, actress (USD 21million)

6. Angelina Jolie, actress (USD 21million)

7. Jennifer Aniston, actress (UD 20million)

8. Sandra Bullock, actress (USD 20million)

9. Kristen Stewart, actress (USD 16million)

Scientists design world’s most accurate clock

Physicists have built the world’s most accurate timepiece, based on an advanced version of an experimental atomic clock relying on a 
 
It is more than twice as precise as the previous pacesetter based on a mercury atom. The new aluminum clock would neither gain nor lose one second in about 3.7 billion years, according to measurements.

The new clock is the second version of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) “quantum logic clock,” because it borrows the logical processing used for atoms storing data in experimental quantum computing.

“This paper is a milestone for atomic clocks” for a number of reasons, says NIST postdoctoral researcher James Chou, who developed most of the improvements.

In addition to demonstrating that aluminum is now a better timekeeper than mercury, the latest results confirm that optical clocks are widening their lead – in some respects – over the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock, the US civilian time standard, which currently keeps time to within one second in about 100 million years.

Because the international definition of the second (in the International System of Units, or SI) is based on the cesium atom, cesium remains the “ruler” for official timekeeping, and no clock can be more accurate than cesium-based standards such as NIST-F1.

The logic clock is based on a single aluminum ion (electrically charged atom) trapped by electric fields and vibrating at ultraviolet light frequencies, which are 100,000 times higher than microwave frequencies used in NIST-F1 and other similar time standards around the world, says a NIST release.

Optical clocks thus divide time into smaller units, and could someday lead to time standards more than 100 times as accurate as today’s microwave standards. Higher frequency is one of a variety of factors that enables improved precision and accuracy.

These findings are slated for publication in Physical Review Letters.

Blast in Iraq, 20 killed and 75 injured

Karbala (Iraq), Feb 5: At least 20 people were killed and 75 injured Friday in two blasts targeting Shias in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala.

Pilgrims are visiting the shrine of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, to celebrate the 40th day after Ashura, the holy day that marks Hussein’s death in the Battle of Karbala in the year 680.

More than 30,000 military and police officers have been deployed on the roads leading to Karbala to try to beef up security.

Security authorities cooperated with US army air support to protect visitors in the holy Shia city, which lies some 110 km southwest of Baghdad.

Official statistics indicated that more than eight million visitors have arrived in the city to attend the annual ritual.

Mark Benson steps down from ICC Elite Panel

Dubai, Feb 5: Experienced umpire Mark Benson has retired from ICC’’s Emirates Elite Panel on health ground and is set to take up a contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to officiate in county circuit. Benson, who umpired 27 Tests, 72 ODIs and 19 T20Is since 2006, was short-listed for Umpire of the Year at the ICC Awards in 2007 and 2008.

He also stood in the final of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 final in Johannesburg. Benson’s contract was due to expire by the end of June but he requested to be released three months early so that he could take up a contract with the ECB. “I have enjoyed my time on the elite panel immensely.

The opportunity to be part of the global game has given me memories that I will always treasure. But travel and being away from home takes its toll on the family and some warning bells have started to ring regarding my health,” said Benson.

“So, having thought about it carefully, I feel now is the right time for me to step down and move to a more settled and familiar environment in England. “I also want to thank the ECB for giving me the opportunity to be part of the county circuit again.

I”m looking forward to the new season as much as I did when I played, and hope that I can add value with my international experience as an ICC elite umpire,” he added. Benson blemish-free umpiring career was marred during the Sydney Test between Australia and India in January 2008 where he was criticised for some umpiring decisions, which went against India.

Six persons were killed in building collapse in Hyderabad

Six persons were killed and few others remained trapped under the rubble as an under- construction building adjoining a school collapsed at the busy Narayanaguda locality here today.

Hyderabad City Police Commissioner A K Khan, who was supervising the rescue operation, said six bodies were recovered and efforts were on to save those remained trapped.

Some construction work was going on when the five-storeyed building crashed and the victims were mostly labourers involved in construction activity, he said.

“It seems about 8-10 persons were there at the site when the building collapsed,” he said.

Police and fire personnel besides locals were carrying out the rescue efforts, clearing the debris with the help of cranes, JCB machines and gas-cutters.

Khan said students and teachers in the school building have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

“Top priority now is to conduct the rescue operation.”

Six persons were killed and few others remained trapped under the rubble as an under- construction building adjoining a school collapsed at the busy Narayanaguda locality here today.
Hyderabad City Police Commissioner A K Khan, who was supervising the rescue operation, said six bodies were recovered and efforts were on to save those remained trapped.
Some construction work was going on when the five-storeyed building crashed and the victims were mostly labourers involved in construction activity, he said.
“It seems about 8-10 persons were there at the site when the building collapsed,” he said.
Police and fire personnel besides locals were carrying out the rescue efforts, clearing the debris with the help of cranes, JCB machines and gas-cutters.
Khan said students and teachers in the school building have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
“Top priority now is to conduct the rescue operation.”

Rahul Gandhi’s whirlwind four-hour visit to Mumbai

Mumbai, Feb 5 (Agency) He came, he saw and conquered Shiv Sena’s turf Mumbai. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s whirlwind four-hour visit saw him pulling out money from an ATM, boarding crowded local trains and generating a massive swell of goodwill that swept away the Sena’s threats.

Despite sporadic attempts by Sena activists to create hurdles by waving black flags, staging noisy demonstrations and burning Rahul Gandhi’s effigies for his comments on Mumbai belonging to all Indians, the Congress general secretary’s trip passed off without any untoward incident.

Maximising on the tremendous response to his trip, Rahul Gandhi even attempted something no other national leader of his stature has done in the recent past – travel on two suburban trains along with members of the general public.

He brushed aside security concerns – and his waiting helicopter – at the last minute to zoom off to Andheri to board a Virar-Dadar fast local and got off at Dadar station at 1.17 pm.

Prior to that, like any law-abiding citizen, Rahul Gandhi checked his pockets for some change. Not finding any, he withdrew cash from an ATM near the Andheri station.

The Congress general secretary then stood in queue to buy a ticket and then boarded a Western Railway (WR) local.

Thousands of commuters were pleasantly surprised and even taken aback to see the VVIP in their modest midst. Many jostled to get close to Rahul Gandhi or shake hands with him, giving his security personnel a tough time.

Ditto at Dadar from where he took the stairs over a foot overbridge to catch a slow Central Railway (CR) local train to go to Ghatkopar for his next engagement.

At Dadar and Ghatkopar, he was virtually mobbed by the people trying to catch a glimpse of the leader who had challenged the Shiv Sena with his comments on on the role of north Indians in protecting Mumbai during the 26/11 terror attacks.

On both trips, Rahul Gandhi was also accompanied by Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Shivanandhan and Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Rakesh Maria.

From Ghatkopar, he drove straight to the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar slums, halting at a large statue of B.R. Ambedkar. There he removed his footwear, garlanded the statue and respectfully bowed in homage to the father of the Indian constitution.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and others had sweated it out in the heat below a tree, awaiting Rahul Gandhi for over an hour-and-a-half. After all, the leader was scheduled to take a helicopter, not travel on local trains.

It was a political triumph for Rahul Gandhi in the Shiv Sena’s own turf.

An elderly Dalit woman, almost in her 80s and barely able to walk, told waiting mediapersons that she had mustered up the energy only to see Rahul ‘beta’.

At the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar slums, Rahul Gandhi halted in his tracks often to speak to local people, sign autographs and instantly win friends.

Said a 21-year-old college student Lata Sagame: ‘It is the first time that somebody big like Rahul Gandhi has tried to understand the problems of the people of Mumbai. None of the Shiv Sena leaders have ever travelled in local trains.’

A peeved Sena sought to downplay the response of the visit and termed it a drama that had inconvenienced train commuters.

Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe told television channels that if he was so concerned about the common man, why could he not walk down from Juhu Airport to Bhaidas Auditorium, a distance of barely a kilometre.

Rahul Gandhi had arrived at around 11 a.m. to a virtual curfew like atmosphere with police on guard to ward off trouble in the face of the Sena’s directives to its activists to greet him with black flags on grounds that he had ‘insulted’ Marathi people and Maharashtra.

It was a very different atmosphere when he left a few hours later for Puducherry.

Woman freed from washing machine in Norway

Emergency services in the southern Norwegian town of Moss freed a woman who was partly trapped inside a washing machine, reports said on Friday.

The woman in her 20s had apparently stuck her head and one arm inside the washing machine’s drum and was unable to free herself, a police spokesman told the local Moss Avis newspaper.

Another person alerted police early Friday and after 10 minutes police and emergency service were able to free the woman who was unharmed.

Police said that the freed woman apparently won a bet with the person who alerted them, but questioned the wisdom of such pranks.

Headache pill can save quake victims: Study

A woman runs after taking items from a quake-damaged building in Port-au-Prince

 Although the finding has come too late to save lives following the quake in Haiti, researchers are hopeful that “the treatment can be validated in humans before, or even during, the next big quake”

A common drug used to treat headache can help save thousands of earthquake victims who die of “crush syndrome” — a condition in which their kidneys fail after being rescued, scientists have claimed.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, claimed that their experiments in rats have shown that the drug “acetaminophen” prevents the syndrome, also called as rhabdomyolysis, in which muscle debris from crushed limbs floods the kidneys soon after the limb is freed from rubble, causing them to fail.

“When you release the pressure on muscle through rescue, debris goes to the kidney. It’s like a chain reaction, and acetaminophen blocks it,” said Olivier Boutaud, who headed the research team.

Although the finding has come too late to save lives following the quake in Haiti, Mr. Boutaud is hopeful that “the treatment can be validated in humans before, or even during, the next big quake”, the New Scientist reported.

According to the researchers, the destruction of muscle through crushing leads to the release of myoglobin, a protein vital for delivering oxygen to muscle and other tissue.

When the myoglobin reaches the kidneys it clogs the tubules and produces harmful chemical agents called free radicals.

These free radicals destroy fatty membranes in the kidney, which die and turn black. They also trigger constriction of blood vessels, cutting off blood flow to the kidney and halting filtration of blood, rapidly leading to death through kidney failure.

The condition became known as the “smiling death” in China after apparently uninjured victims died, said the report.

For their study, Mr. Boutaud and colleagues induced crush syndrome in rats via muscular injections of sugar.

But after giving them human-equivalent dose of acetaminophen, the scientists found the drug successfully blocked both of these processes, whether given before or shortly after the injury.

Reporting their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mr. Boutaud said: “We don’t know yet whether it would work, or how soon we’d need to give it to prevent kidney damage.

“But we must try because it could save thousands of lives.”

Karachi bomb blasts leave many dead

Two bomb blasts in the Pakistani city of Karachi, apparently targeting Shia Muslims marking a religious ceremony, have killed at least 22 people.

A bomb-laden motorcycle first exploded on a main road in the city as a bus carrying Shia worshippers passed on Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 40 others.

The second blast went off outside the hospital where the wounded were being taken, reportedly killing another 10 people, witnesses said.

“An explosion occurred at the Jinnah hospital near the emergency ward, where the bodies and injured were being taken,” Dr Mushtaq Ahmad said.

“I heard a large blast. People are running all over the place. Casualties are feared.”

Shia ceremony

Shias in Pakistan are marking Arbaeen – the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh century battle in Karbala.

The violence in Karachi echoed similar attacks in Iraqagainst Shia Muslims gathered in Karbala to mark the occasion.

It was not clear if either attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

“A bomb was planted on the motorcyle and it hit the bus,” Waseem Ahmad, the city police chief, said.

“We cannot determine in one and a half hours whether it was a suicide blast or not. We are examining the site. We are collecting the evidence. We are taking witness statements and then we will say something concrete.”

‘Destabilising’ Karachi

Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Islamabad, said that it was unclear who had carried out the two attacks on Friday, but he noted that the city had previously seen ethnic, sectarian and political violence.

“It would appear that whoever is conducting these acts of terror in Karachi wants to destabilise Karachi,” he said.

“There has been a lot of talk that Karachi is a strategic city, it is a port city, but whoever wants to hit Karachi primarily wants to do so because it is the financial heart of the country.

“Karachi has also seen an unrelenting wave of firing incidents, snipers shooting at ordinary people across the city.”

The Pakistani Taliban have claimed past attacks against Shia Muslims in Pakistan.

Two attacks in Karachi last Decemberclaimed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan left at least 60 people dead and unleashed a wave of angeron the city’s streets.

Pakistan had tightened security in the city to protect mass processions of worshippers during Ashura- deploying tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces.

Six people killed in building collapse in Hyderabad

Six persons were killed and few others remained trapped under the rubble as an under- construction building adjoining a school collapsed at the busy Narayanaguda locality here today.

Hyderabad City Police Commissioner A K Khan, who was supervising the rescue operation, said six bodies were recovered and efforts were on to save those remained trapped.

Some construction work was going on when the five-storeyed building crashed and the victims were mostly labourers involved in construction activity, he said.

“It seems about 8-10 persons were there at the site when the building collapsed,” he said.

Police and fire personnel besides locals were carrying out the rescue efforts, clearing the debris with the help of cranes, JCB machines and gas-cutters.

Khan said students and teachers in the school building have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

“Top priority now is to conduct the rescue operation

Building collapses in Narayanguda, 3 persons injured

Hyderabad, Feb 5 : At least three people were injured and 10 were feared to be trapped in the debris of an under-construction building, which collapsed here Friday, police said.

Three construction workers were rescued by the police and fire services personnel from the debris of the three-storeyed building. The mishap took place around 2.30 p.m. in the busy Narayanaguda area in the city centre.

“We don’t know the exact numbers but six to 10 people may be trapped under the debris,” Hyderabad district collector Naveen Mittal told reporters.

The fire services department and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) pressed their men and machinery into service to remove the debris. Ambulances rushed to the scene.

Anxious parents of students of an adjacent school rushed to escort their wards home as some television channels initially reported that the school building had collapsed.

Railways, Health ministries team up to develop medical facilities

 

Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee address a press conference after signing an MoU to develop health care facilities. Photo: Kamal Narang

In a first of its kind initiative, the Railways on Friday teamed up with the Health Ministry to build medical facilities at major stations across the country.

According to an MoU signed between the two ministries, they will collaborate to develop health care facilities both for allopathic and Indian systems of medicine like diagnostic centres, out-patient centres, inpatient medical treatment centres, super-speciality hospitals, medical colleges and nursing colleges.

These health care facilities could also be used as trauma centres for emergencies, accidents and natural disasters.

While the land for building the health infrastructure would be provided by the Railways, the health ministry would be in-charge of the setting up process.

“Apart from railway passengers, Indian Railway employees and their families, public living around such areas and other citizens will also benefit from the proposed facilities,” Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said after signing of the MoU.

The Ministry of Railways has identified land it can spare all over the country. The 361 diagnostic centres would be allotted 200 sqm of land each, 88 second level hospitals would be allotted five acres of land each and 41 multi-functional hospitals would get 20 acres each.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said all junction stations will have medical centres. “Railways will provide the land not available for operational use,” she said adding that it would be a combined package.

“The Health Ministry has also agreed to give the go-ahead for our nursing colleges,” she said.

The two Ministries have set up an expert working group to finalise the modalities of the partnership. The total land which would be given will be decided within a month.

According to the MoU, wherever feasible the hospitals will be developed with a planning to connect them to medical college at a later stage.

Asked how many of these Railway medical centres would be set up in West Bengal, Ms. Banerjee said, they would be evenly set up across the country. “Is there any reason you think Bengal should not be given any centre? Has Bengal not voted in elections? There are 20 MPs from Bengal,” she retorted.

“As I am from Bengal, it is my responsibility to do it for that state. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad should also do (special projects) for Jammu and Kashmir,” she added.

Uttarakhand bans Bt Brinjal

Students of Punjab University express their protest against Bt Brinjal with their face painted with graffiti at a student centre in Chandigarh. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

Uttarakhand on Friday became the first State in the country to announce a ban on Bt Brinjal even before the Centre takes a final decision on the introduction of the controversial genetically modified crop.

The State also asked the Centre to follow suit even as the final consultation as part of the public hearings in seven cities convened by Environment minister Jairam Ramesh is set to be held in Bangalore tomorrow.

“Keeping in view the sensitive nature of Uttarakhand and its diversities which have to be protected, we have to remain watchful against crops like Bt Brinjal. We have decided to ban the farming of Bt Brinjal in the state,” Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said in a statement in Dehra Dun.

Though several States including West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Kerala have opposed the introduction of Bt Brinjal, the Chief Minister’s announcement to ban it significantly came even before the Centre takes a final decision. Uttarakhand will be the first state to announce a formal ban.

Mr. Ramesh had earlier said a final decision on the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal would be taken before February 10.

The Bangalore meeting is likely to be stormy with pro-commercialisation and opponents gearing up to make themselves heard. Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has already sought deferment of release of Bt Brinjal till the issue is thoroughly examined from all angles taking into account the views of all the stakeholders and conducting a long-term research for its bio-safety and its consequent contribution to food security and farmers’ well being.

India’s biotech czar Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw meanwhile slammed attempts to politicise the Bt Brinjal issue and whip up emotions by opponents of its commercialisation saying the decision be better left to farmers.

10 students from India displaced by US blaze

Ten graduate students from India are homeless after a fire in a northeastern Pennsylvania apartment building.

No injuries were reported from Thursday afternoon’s fire in Scranton. Two University of Scranton students were home at the time of the blaze but made it to safety.

The eight other residents of the thre-storey building were attending classes at Marywood University when the fire broke out.

Officials at both schools say they are arranging temporary housing for the displaced students.

Fire officials are investigating the cause of the fire.