Filmmakers should avoid hurting public sentiments, Tamil Nadu governor says

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday urged filmmakers in the state to show respect to the sensitivities of the people while making "sensitive" films and avoid hurting public sentiments.

The plea comes against the backdrop of chief minister J Jayalalithaa justifying her government's decision to impose a two-week ban on the film, citing law and order problem.

Apparently referring to the controversy over Kamal Haasan's film Vishwaroopam and reflecting the state government's sentiments on the issue, Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah, in his maiden address this year in the assembly, said the government will not spare anybody who tries to whip up communal passions.

Hailing chief minister J Jayalalithaa for giving uncompromising support and a free hand to the police to deal effectively with law and order issues, he said, "as a result of her firmness and resolve, timely interventions to ban the release of sensitive films like Dam 999 that have the potential to disturb peace, has averted serious law and order problems that could have effected the state".

Indicating the government's seriousness in tackling crimes against women in the wake of the Delhi gang-rape case, the governor said that in a civilised society, heinous crimes committed against women and children should end.

The state government also made several announcements, including additional plan allocation for the 2013-2014 from Rs 28,000 crore to Rs 37,000.

The governor urged the Centre to impress upon the Sri Lankan government the need to exercise restraint and to refrain from making unprovoked attacks on Tamil Nadu's fishermen.

Earlier, the opposition, DMK, boycotted the governor's address and staged a walkout from the assembly hall.

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Filmmakers should avoid hurting public sentiments, Tamil Nadu governor says

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday urged filmmakers in the state to show respect to the sensitivities of the people while making "sensitive" films and avoid hurting public sentiments.

The plea comes against the backdrop of chief minister J Jayalalithaa justifying her government's decision to impose a two-week ban on the film, citing law and order problem.

Apparently referring to the controversy over Kamal Haasan's film Vishwaroopam and reflecting the state government's sentiments on the issue, Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah, in his maiden address this year in the assembly, said the government will not spare anybody who tries to whip up communal passions.

Hailing chief minister J Jayalalithaa for giving uncompromising support and a free hand to the police to deal effectively with law and order issues, he said, "as a result of her firmness and resolve, timely interventions to ban the release of sensitive films like Dam 999 that have the potential to disturb peace, has averted serious law and order problems that could have effected the state".

Indicating the government's seriousness in tackling crimes against women in the wake of the Delhi gang-rape case, the governor said that in a civilised society, heinous crimes committed against women and children should end.

The state government also made several announcements, including additional plan allocation for the 2013-2014 from Rs 28,000 crore to Rs 37,000.

The governor urged the Centre to impress upon the Sri Lankan government the need to exercise restraint and to refrain from making unprovoked attacks on Tamil Nadu's fishermen.

Earlier, the opposition, DMK, boycotted the governor's address and staged a walkout from the assembly hall.

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Nukes could be hijacked by radicals: Pakistani scientist

LONDON: Increasing radicalisation within Pakistan's military could lead to its nuclear weapons being hijacked by radical Islamists, a Pakistani scientist has warned.

"Safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is of a major concern. The growing radicalisation within the military, given attacks on its own internal bases, could lead to these nuclear weapons being hijacked by radical Islamists," said Pervez Hoodbhoy, who was here for the London launch of his book 'Confronting the Bomb'.

The nuclear physicist and defence analyst estimated Pakistan's arsenal to be similar to India's, at around 120-130 warheads.

He was answering questions from members of the Indian Journalists' Association at the Indali Lounge here last evening.

"Earlier, such weapons were seen just as a means of deterrence. The most dangerous development is the increasing search for fissile material as a new dimension of tactical nuclear war has entered the picture. This means the number of weapons will steadily increase," he said.

Hoodbhoy, who received his PhD in nuclear physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), stressed that the issue needs to be addressed for the sake of sub-continental as well as global security.

"India and Pakistan have come close to nuclear war at least five times - in 1987, 1990, during Kargil (1999), after the attack on the Indian Parliament (2001) and the Mumbai attacks in 2008. Given the history of nuclear tension, we can't afford to be passive on this issue. The fallout, from the blast itself to the radioactive effects, will be felt not just in the sub-continent but around the world," he said.

"Confronting the Bomb: Pakistani & Indian Scientists Speak Out", published by Oxford University Press and edited by Hoodbhoy, is a compilation of essays by scientists from both sides of the border.

It kicks off with the atomic age in India in 1974, followed by Pakistan and traces the furious nuclear race after the 1998 nuclear tests.

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Worsening global situation to have severe impact on India: Asian Development Bank

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Feb 1, 2013, 01.27PM IST

NEW DELHI: Asian Development Bank (ADB) today cautioned that worsening global financial situation will have severe consequences for emerging economies like India and China.

"This global slump (in US, Euro area and Japan) will have a serious slump on the region's major economies, particularly on India and China," ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said at a Ficci seminar here.

The ADB chief said that despite signs of stabilisation, "downside risks to growth remain in Asia ... recovery in the United States, Euro area and Japan remains illusive".

As per latest data, the US economy, after a gap of over three years, contracted by 0.1 per cent for the quarter ending December 2012.

Kuroda said while the US is endeavouring to deal with the problem of fiscal cliff, the inability to Euro area countries to tide over the fiscal problems could undermine the recovery prospects in the coming months.

Referring to India, Kuroda appreciated the recent policy initiatives undertaken by the government and said ADB was maintaining its growth projection for the current fiscal at 5.4 per cent and for 2013-14 at 6.5 per cent.

"India is also taking positive policy measures ... There is no clear evidence of growth recovery in India. Among many factors, the delay in implementing the necessary reforms has hampered India's competitiveness. But we expect that recent government reforms will help steer the economy back to a strong growth," Kuroda said.

The government has recently undertaken a host policy initiatives including hike in FDI limit in various sectors, including retail, deregulating the diesel prices and restricting subsidised LPG cylinders to 9 per family a year.

The Reserve Bank has recently lowered the growth projection for the current fiscal to 5.5 per cent, from 5.8 per cent estimated earlier.

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Family of Delhi gang-rape victim seeks appointment with Sonia Gandhi

BALLIA: The family of Delhi gang-rape victim has sought an appointment with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of their woes and demands.

The father of the girl told on phone that he has sought an appointment with Gandhi.

Her office has asked the family to wait for some time in keeping with her pressing commitments, he said.

The family is unhappy over the Juvenile Justice Board's decision on the sixth accused, but have full faith that despite him being ruled as a minor, he would also get sternest of punishments, he said.

The father of the girl said he was seeking advice of legal experts on the decision of the Juvenile Justice Board but was yet to decide whether to go to court in this connection.

The family would try to ensure that the court takes this act as an exception and pronounce sternest of punishments to the accused.

Her father said he found himself helpless before the law.

The Juvenile Justice Board had said the sixth accused, described as the most brutal by the Delhi Police in its chargesheet, was a "minor" and this could enable him to walk free by June 4 this year when he attains the age of 18 years.

The brother of the deceased said just as the central and Delhi governments initiated steps on rape cases following mass protests and agitations, there should also be efforts for awarding capital punishment for minor offenders in rape cases.

He also took exception to media running news of his sister's love affair.

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Hillary Clinton could announce presidential bid by 2014: Report

WASHINGTON: Stepping down as the top American diplomat at the height of popularity, Hillary Clinton could announce her 2016 presidency bid by 2014, a media report said today.

Ed Rendell, a friend of the Clinton family and a former Democratic Party chairman, has predicted that she might decide to run as soon as early 2014, lured by the prospect of becoming the first female president and an abiding interest in government service, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"If she announces fairly soon after that, she essentially pre-empts the field," Rendell was quoted as saying by the financial daily.

Clinton, 65, is scheduled to leave the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the state department this afternoon in the presence of hundreds of state department employees.

In her media interviews and public appearances in the last few days, she has refused to entertain any question on her 2016 presidential bid.

However, her followers have already established a political action committee "Ready for Hillary" in preparation of the 2016 run.

Clinton leaves the post of Secretary of State today with a high approval rating, a strengthened resume and a loose-knit network of donors and grass-root supporters eager to make her the first woman president if she decides to re-enter politics, the report said.

Should Clinton run, "That's going to be a sharp contrast," said Amy Siskind, co-founder of The New Agenda, a woman's advocacy group that was created by 30 Clinton supporters.

"It's shameful that a man who got elected by women and people of colour and people of different sexual orientation goes and chooses a bunch of white men for top government roles," she said.

In another interview to the daily, a top adviser to US President Barack Obama said that Clinton would be a strong candidate in the 2016 presidential elections.

Should Clinton jump in the 2016 presidential contest, she would be in "a very, very strong position", Obama adviser David Axelrod said.

"She has a unique status. There are formidable people who might run for the Democratic Party nomination," Axelrod said, adding that "the vice-president chief among them".

"But she has undeniable assets that would put her in a strong position relative to the rest of the field, and relative to the Republicans. The big question for her is simply whether at this point she wants to do this," he said.

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Mamata's honeymoon with Gorkha Janamukti Morcha over: Left Front

KOLKATA: In the wake of the pro-Gorkhaland GJM threatening for a "bloodied" agitation, West Bengal's opposition parties have asked the state government to tread cautiously and sought an all party meeting on the issue.

Expressing concern over the developments, leader of the opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra Wednesday appealed both to the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and the Mamata Banerjee government to "exercise restraint" so that the situation does not take an unfortunate turn.

"We would urge the chief minister (Banerjee) to have a more cautious approach on this sensitive manner. It would have been better had she not made unnecessary provocations," Mishra said here.

Calling for an "intensified movement", the GJM Wednesday warned of "violence and bloodbath" if their demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland was not met.

"What will they do? Get the police to fire on us? If that be, we are ready to die," GJM chief Bimal Gurung said, adding: "If there be riots, violence and bloodbath, we are ready for it. But we will not sell our conscience."

Mishra also said the "honeymoon" between Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and the GJM is over.

"It is surprising that the state government is firm on issues on which it should remain soft, while it had been soft in dealing with issues it should have dealt firmly," Mishra said, referring to the "hurried setting up" of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) - a hill council armed with more powers than its predecessor, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, formed in the late 1980s.

Accusing the Banerjee government of denying the people of the hills the "self-rule" promised in the GTA, Mishra said it was not the chief minister's "prerogative to make announcements and dole out sops in the region".

"The state government should hold discussions with all parties including GJM on this issue," he said.

Meanwhile the Congress too echoed the need for an all-party discussion on the issue.

"It is not the problem concerning only the state government or any political party but a problem concerning the people of the state," state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said.

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China sentences two Tibetans for 'inciting' self-immolations

BEIJING: A court in China has handed down heavy sentences to a Tibetan monk and his nephew for inciting eight people to set themselves on fire in anti-Chinese protests, media said on Thursday, the first time punishment has been meted out over such protests.

Nearly 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule since 2009, with most of them dying from their injuries.

Lorang Konchok, 40, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in the Aba prefecture in Sichuan province, while his nephew, Losang Tsering, 31, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the Xinhua state news agency said.

In practice, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve is commuted to life imprisonment or reduced to a fixed-term later.

"The two incited and coerced eight people to self-immolate, resulting in three deaths," Xinhua said, citing the Intermediate People's Court in Aba prefecture.

Last December, Xinhua reported that Lorang Konchok, who was detained with his nephew in August, confessed to police that he had followed instructions from exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and his followers.

Lorang Konchok and his nephew passed on information about each self-immolation, including photographs, to overseas contacts belonging to a Tibetan independence organization with mobile telephones, Xinhua said.

China has repeatedly denounced the Dalai Lama and exiled Tibetan groups for fomenting the self-immolations.

Beijing considers Nobel peace laureate the Dalai Lama, who fled from China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a separatist. The Dalai Lama says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.

He has called on China to investigate the self-immolations. He has said he is not encouraging them has called them "understandable".

China has defended its iron-fisted rule in Tibet, saying the remote region suffered from dire poverty, brutal exploitation and economic stagnation until 1950, when Communist troops "peacefully liberated" it.

Tibetan areas in China have been largely closed to foreign reporters, making an independent assessment of the situation there impossible.

Chinese police arrested a Tibetan man last week for allegedly encouraging a monk to burn himself to death, as part of a new tactic to discourage suicide protests against Chinese rule.

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6.7 magnitude quake hits northern Chile: USGS

SANTIAGO: A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake jolted northern Chile on Wednesday, killing a woman, knocking out electricity and phone services, and sending panicked residents running into the streets.

The earthquake occurred at 2015 GMT some 102 kilometers (63 miles) from the mining town of Copiapo, the site of a famous 2010 rescue operation, the US Geological Service said.

The epicenter was about 800 kilometers north of the capital Santiago.

Late Wednesday, Interior Minister Andres Chadwick announced that a woman in her 50s had suffered a fatal heart attack during the quake. The temblor otherwise appeared to have caused only minor damage, with no other reports of casualties.

The quake, which lasted longer than a minute, downed phone service and power in nearby cities, local officials said.

Panicked people ran out into the streets of the town of Atacama, recalling a tsunami that hit the south three years ago. Homes were were damaged in the city of Vallenar, and in Copiapo the quake knocked out windows.

"At city hall, some fragile items were smashed and a television set fell. Some people ran out of the building," Vallenar mayor Cristian Tapia said.

He said stunned residents ran into the streets, and that some of them were treated for panic attacks in local medical centers.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said in a preliminary report that there was no tsunami threat, but that an earthquake of such magnitude could cause localized damage.

In February 2010, a massive 8.8-strength earthquake hit Chile's central Maule region, south of Valparaiso, generating tsunami waves, killing more than 500 people and causing about $30 billion in damage.

But experts said that Wednesday's quake was on a different tectonic plate from the 2010 temblor.

The town of Copiapo attracted global attention two years ago when 33 workers were trapped deep inside a nearby mine for more than two months before being rescued.

It took emergency services 17 days to drill a small shaft to establish contact, and more than two months of painstaking effort before they opened a passageway wide enough to pull them out, one by one.

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SC dismisses plea against Tamil Nadu govt's decision to shift assembly

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea challenging the AIADMK government's decision to shift legislative assembly-cum-secretariat complex back to its old building at Fort St. George in Chennai.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir refused to set aside the state government's decision which was taken after AIADMK came back to power in May 2011.

The bench said these issues should be raised before another forum and the court should not adjudicate them after it was pleaded that the decision was taken only to override the earlier decision taken by the DMK government to shift the assembly to the new building at Omandurar government Estate in Chennai.

The Jayalalithaa government had decided to shift the Secretariat to the Fort St. George and convert the new building constructed by the previous DMK government into a multi-speciality hospital-cum-medical college.

The apex court passed the order on a plea filed by DMK leader R Veeramani challenging the Madras HC decision upholding the shifting of the assembly to the older building.

On June 20, last year, the court had declined to interfere with the plea pending in the Madras HC seeking to restrain the Tamil Nadu government from shifting the secretariat building to Fort St. George.

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