Over 60 killed in Sri Lanka depot blast: military

More than 60 people, many of them policemen, were feared killed when two containers full of dynamite exploded outside a police station near Batticaloa, some 260 km east of Colombo. Among those killed were two Chinese nationals, reports said. The containers full of explosives were parked inside the premises of the Karadiyanaru police station and were to be used for renovating roads in the area.

Police spokesperson, P Jayakody said at least 25 people were instantly killed when the explosion occurred around 11-30 in the morning.

Military spokesperson, Major General U Medawala told reporters that he had information that at least 60 were killed. Many died on the way to hospital.

"First, one container accidentally exploded. The first explosion triggered the second one. There were at least 50 policemen inside the premises at that time," Jayakody said.

More than 30 injured were rushed to the Batticaloa general hospital where many are said to be critical.
Initial investigations ruled out foul play. "No…no…this was an accident," Jayakody said.

Loans may cost more as RBI hikes rates to combat inflation

The Reserve Bank on Thursday raised key policy rates by up to 50 basis points for the fifth time this year, a decision that will make loans expensive and help check inflation, but give better returns to small savers.

As part of its first mid-quarterly review of monetary policy, the RBI upped its key short-term lending (repo) rate by 25 basis points and borrowing (reverse repo) rate by 50 basis points to 6 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

The decision has been guided by the need to contain inflation, which is currently at 8.5 per cent (food inflation has touched 15.10 per cent), as a hike in rates will lead to a rise in cost of funds for banks and will make loans expensive. This, in turn, will reduce consumption.

"Rate of interest may have to go up. Banks have to take a view at the end of the quarter. Till September 30, I do not expect any change. Pressure is there to increase rates in the near term", said Bank of Maharashtra chairman and managing director Allen Pereira.

"In early October, there could be some revision in interest rate...the credit offtake, deposit inflow and what competititors are doing -- all these business considerations will come into play for deciding the rate hike", said R K Bakshi executive director of Bank of Baroda.

Similar views were expressed by executive director of Punjab and Sind Bank, P K Anand who said, "Till September 30 everyone will hold on to the interest rate. (After that) there might be a pass on effect to customer."

Following the hike in repo and reverse repo rates by a similar margin in July, the fourth time then during the calendar year, 40 banks raised deposit rates and 29 lending rates.

The RBI too wants deposit rates to go up as there is a need to make the real interest rates, the difference between inflation and deposit rate, positive. "...real interest rates need to move in the direction of encouraging bank deposits", the central bank said.

Industry chamber Ficci also expressed the fear that rising interest rates would hit business.

"Increasing repo rate is another signal of rising the cost of borrowing...hopefully it is the last such... restrictive action towards growth. We hope to see this restrictive policy eased in the next round", said Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra.

Expressing concern over the RBI move, PHD Chamber said, "This will adversely impact the cost of borrowing by the industry from the banks, especially by the SMEs. It may also the cost of home loan as well as consumer loans."

For RBI the major concern in inflation as "headline inflation remains significantly above the trend of 5.0-5.5 per cent in the 2000s.

"Inflation remains the dominant concern in macroeconomic management... (there is) need for continued policy response to contain inflation and anchor inflationary expectations," the RBI said.

Now, Obama pens book for kids

He may have the weight of the world on his shoulders, but Barack Obama still has time to jot down a few musings for younger citizens. The US president will on November 16 release an illustrated children's book called Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, publisher Random House said Tuesday.

The 40-page book features tributes to 13 inspiring US figures, from painter Georgia O'Keefe to baseball player Jackie Robinson wo have shaped American culture.

It will be illustrated by award-winning artist Loren Long, illustrator of the most recent edition of children's classic "The Little Engine That Could". It will have an initial print run of 500,000, and coming out in the holiday season it should quickly make its way up the bestseller lists.

"It is an honour to publish this extraordinary book, which is an inspiring marriage of words and images, history and story," said Random House president Chip Gibson. Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters celebrates the characteristics that unite all Americans -- the potential to pursue our dreams and forge our own paths."

According to Random House, the book was acquired and the manuscript completed before Obama took office in January 2009. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to a scholarship fund for the children of fallen and disabled soldiers.

Obama signed a three-book deal worth $1.9 million with Random House in 2004. The book is Obama's third, following the success of his international bestselling memoirs Dreams from my Father and The Audacity of Hope.

24 injured as protesters defy curfew in Kashmir

Over 24 people, including 8 policemen, were injured when protesters clashed with security forces in the Kashmir Valley on Sunday, even as curfew was imposed in Srinagar and other major towns following Saturday's violent protests.

Three FIRs were registered against moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for inciting violence and arson on Saturday.

A youth, who was injured in police firing in Palhalan on September 6, died on Sunday, taking the death toll, since violence erupted in the Valley on June 11, to 70.

At Kralgund Handwara, protesters burnt down the Government Middle School and the records kept inside.

Heavy contingents of police and the CRPF were deployed to enforce strict curfew. Even curfew passes were not considered.

At many places people defied curfew and took to the streets.

In Damhal area of Anantnag, stones were hurled at the house of Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed. The Minister was present there, and the guards opened fire injuring at least 15 people. One of them is said to be in a critical condition.

The Minister was shifted to Srinagar under heavy police escort. Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir zone, S.M. Sahai said the situation was tense, but under control.

A police spokesman said miscreants pelted stones at the Pothkhah-Sopore police post. At Boatman Colony-Bemina in Srinagar, protesters threw stones at security forces, who retaliated and chased away the mob.

Eight policemen were injured when protesters resorted to heavy stone pelting at Azad Gunj-Baramulla. A CRPF bunker was attacked with a petrol bomb.

Stone pelting incidents were also reported from Khanpora in Baramulla, Lethpora, Drangbal Pampore, and at Sabzi Mundi Soura and Gowkadal in Srinagar. At Gow-kadal one Samir Ahmad Bhat was injured.

The Mirwaiz was held directly responsible for the violence and arson in Srinagar on Saturday. Several sections have been included in the FIRs filed against him and some of these are non-bailable. However, sources said his arrest at this stage was unlikely.

This is the first time that an FIR was registered against the Mirwaiz since he joined active politics in May 1990 following the gunning down of his father, Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has also not been formally put behind bars, though once he courted arrest and was in a police station for a brief period.

“I will not be cowed down by the cases registered against me, as they have no basis,” he told The Hindu. “I am ready to go to jail.” The Mirwaiz said he had not made any provocative speech at the Eidgah, as alleged.

He rebuffed the government claim that he had sought permission from the government to proceed to Lal Chowk after Eid prayers.

“Would a government that does not allow me and the people to offer Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid allow me to lead a procession to Lal Chowk?” the Mirwaiz said.

On arson, he said that “as per eyewitnesses, the fire started from the top of the building mysteriously and no mob was seen around it. How a building that is fenced by a 20-foot-high brick wall and razor wire should start burning raises serious doubts that need to be impartially investigated.”

A police spokesman said that at Eidgah the Mirwaiz's speech was highly inflammatory and anti-national.

Catholic Church in Belgium opens new abuse probe

Catholic Church is Belgium is due Monday to open a fresh investigation into the abuse of children by priests, a spokesman for the Conference of Belgian Bishops said.

The new probe opens only days after the Belgian Catholic Church released an independent report detailing hundreds of assertions of sexual abuse of children by clergy and others working for the church from the 1950s into the late 1980s.

"We can say that not a single congregation escaped sexual abuse of minors by one or more of its members," said the Commission on Church-Related Sexual Abuse Complaints on Friday.

It was led by Dr. Peter Ariaenssens, who is both a church investigator and psychiatrist.

The commission said it received about 500 reports from alleged victims, about 60 percent of them from males.

It cited 320 alleged abusers, of whom 102 were known to have been clergy members from 29 congregations.

Thirteen of the alleged victims committed suicide, it said.

Investigators had information about when the abuse started for 233 of the alleged victims. Forty-eight were 12; one was 2; five were 4; eight were 5; seven were 6; 10 were 7.

Of the 230 alleged victims about whom investigators said they had reliable information, more than 70 percent are currently between the ages of 40 and 70, it said. Ten percent are 31 to 40.

Four alleged victims are 20 to 30 years of age, and one is younger than 20, it said.

At the other end of the scale, five alleged victims are aged between 80 and 90 years old and one is older than 90.

'Five-minute scan' to check child's brain development

Children's mental development could be recorded in much the same way we chart height and weight, say scientists.

They have devised a way of mapping development using an MRI machine and a mathematics programme.

The tool can be used to place children on a "maturation curve" just like we do with height and weight.

The scientists claim the technique might one day be used to spot early signs of disorders such as schizophrenia or autism.

Brain score

Last year, the team from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, published a study on how brain function develops with age. They used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to trace blood and neuron flows within the brain.

That study suggested that in young children, connections within the brain appear to be largely localised in particular regions. As we grow, we loose those short-range connections and develop longer-range connections.

These signals are fewer but sharper in the adult brain, the researchers believe.

What the same team has now done is to map this neurological development in 238 individuals aged seven to 30.

The individuals' brains were scanned using an MRI machine and then the mass of data was put through a complex algorithmic computer programme to produce a single "score" representing brain maturity.

"From a five-minute scan we get 13,000 measurements of functional brain connections," says Dr Nico Dosenbach, who led the study.

"Then we can take the whole pattern for a given individual and boil it down essentially to a single measure which tells us something about an individual and in our case we were interested in how functionally mature an individual's brain is."

These single measures can then be placed on a maturation curve, where the researchers can plot the relationship between age and this development of longer-range brain connections.

What the data gives you is an indicator of how quickly or slowly relative to a median, a child's brain is developing.

Details of the new study are reported in the journal Science.

Spotting specifics

Dr Dosenbach is convinced the same technique could be used to spot specific conditions such as schizophrenia or autism, although comparative data for these conditions would first need to be collected and new mathematical programmes built.

He also claims that his team's focus on brain function - and brain communication - can reveal more than the analyses of brain structure.

"One day I could see this being used in clinical diagnostics especially in neurological and psychiatric disorders," he says

"In a young adult with schizophrenia, if you look at the anatomy of the brain, it looks totally normal whereas a clinician will clearly know this person is very ill and their brain doesn't function normally."

"Similarly with kids with autism, taking one look at the brain it's not obvious to a radiologist what's wrong, you have to do more advanced analysis like we're working on now to classify individuals as having autism or being at risk of having autism."

Last month, scientists in Britain said they had developed a brain scan which could detect autism in adults using MRI analysis of brain structure. The team at King's College London tested the method on 40 individuals, 20 of whom had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The research team is now looking at whether the test would be effective on children.

Dr Gina Gómez de la Cuesta, of the UK's National Autistic Society, welcomed the Washington study, but warned much work remained ahead.

"There is still a lot we need to learn about brain function and development so we welcome research such as the Washington study, which has the potential to give further insight into the neurological basis of conditions like autism.

"Previous research has shown differences in connectivity in the brain in autism. It may be valuable to repeat the Washington study to look longitudinally at the development of these connections in autism.

"Eventually, the researchers hope that brain scans might also be a useful diagnostic tool, however this goal is still a long way off and further research is required."

Flood waters heading for Delhi; warning issued

After incessant rains for days together, Delhi is now bracing to combat floods.

Six lakh cusecs of water has been released from the Hatnikund barrage in the Yamuna, further upstream in Haryana, likely to make Yamuna overflow causing floods.

The excess water released from Hatnikund has already caused a breach in the Markanda River damaging a portion of the Ambala-Saharanpur national highway and inundating 20 villages in the Yamunanagar area of Haryana.

Five districts in Haryana have also been put on flood alert.

The water is expected to reach Delhi by late Thursday evening or by early Friday morning.

A flood warning has already been issued in low lying areas.

Last month, as two lakh cusecs of water was released, some low lying areas along the Yamuna were flooded.

In the past, 1978 saw the worst floods in Delhi when the capital was swamped by seven lakh cusecs of water released from Hatnikund.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/flood-waters-heading-for-delhi-warning-issued-50698?trendingnow&cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/flood-waters-heading-for-delhi-warning-issued-50698?trendingnow&cp

Safdarjung Hospital doctors still on strike; small relief for patients

After a traumatic morning, there is some relief for patients at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.

Striking doctors are now setting up a makeshift OPD after several patients were turned away.

The strike was called after a lady doctor was roughed up by relatives of patient who died of suspected dengue early on Tuesday morning.

The government has threatened to take action against the striking doctors and there have been several meetings this morning. The doctors are, however, still undecided over calling off the strike.

In less than a month, this is second flash strike of junior doctors at the hospital, which is one of the biggest government hospitals in the Capital.

"They misbehaved with a lady doctor. She feels threatened. This is not the way one can work. The hospital allows in so many family members with patients. Why aren't they stopped?'' says Dr Chandrabhan, the President of Resident Doctors' Association.

The doctors now want increased protection from agitated families of patients who break through the security and attack them.

''We understand that patients are vulnerable. But we as doctors cannot discharge our duties in such conditions,'' says Dr Sunil Kumar, a member of the Resident Doctors' Association.

The hospital is planning to upgrade its security so that each patient is accompanied by maximum one relative only.

It is also considering invoking ESMA, the Essential Services Maintenance Act, which means a doctor striking work can get up to six months in jail.

But as the doctors and the management slug it out, it's the poor patients who once again are left in a lurch.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/delhi-safdarjung-hospital-doctors-refuse-to-end-strike-50382?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/delhi-safdarjung-hospital-doctors-refuse-to-end-strike-50382?cp

One killed, three injured as Nevada plane crashes

A small plane crashed and burst into flames on a street in a southern Nevada residential neighborhood on Monday, killing one person and badly injuring three others, authorities said.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sgt. John Sheahan said two males and two females were aboard the single-engine Piper Cherokee when it crashed in Henderson, just south of Las Vegas. He said it was a miracle no one on the ground was injured.

"I think we can attribute that to the pilot trying to put it down in a safe place," he said. "You're talking the plane crashed maybe 20 or 30 feet (from the nearest home)."

The debris field is a block long, and one of the wings ended up in the backyard of a home, the sergeant said. The main body of the fuselage came to rest on Morning Mauve Avenue.

A witness, Robert Sutton, told KLAS-TV in Las Vegas that the flaming plane came to a rest upside-down, and he and other residents doused it with hoses before flipping it over to help two victims trapped inside.

Police Lt. Joe Ojeda told the Las Vegas Sun that the plane struck two block walls, a streetlight pole and a tree before landing in the street, and that residents pulled two occupants from the burning wreckage before firefighters arrived. The two were conscious at the time, he said.

"It appeared the way the aircraft was lined up that he did try to land on the road itself," Ojeda told the Sun. "On first blush it looks like he did try to do some kind of maneuver to get down as safely as he could."

The injured, whose identities were not released, were taken University Medical Center with life-threatening burns and trauma.

Hospital spokeswoman Danita Cohen said two were listed in serious condition and one in critical condition.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the plane took off from Henderson Executive Airport shortly after 8 a.m. and was unable to gain altitude. The pilot tried to return to Henderson but crashed about two miles northwest of the airport.

No flight plan was filed, authorities said, and the destination of the plane was not immediately known. The aircraft was registered to a Louisiana resident.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Joshua Cawthra told reporters at the scene late on Monday afternoon that he would examine the histories of the aircraft and pilot and sift through the wreckage for clues.

A preliminary report on the crash will be available later this week, he said, and the full investigation will take six months to a year to complete.

"I really want to reinstate some normal life here because I know it's pretty tragic," Cawthra said. "It's going to be a long few days."

The plane had arrived at the Henderson airport on Thursday, he added.

Sutton told KLAS-TV he heard the sputtering plane pass over his house at low altitude before there was a loud boom a few seconds later.

He and other residents doused the flames with hoses, then flipped it over and tried to help two victims trapped inside. Two other people in the plane were sitting in someone's yard, he said.

Sutton said he saw a woman in the plane who was coherent.

"She was really badly burned. Her face was so badly burned, and she could barely open her eyes, and her hair was all burned," Sutton told KLAS.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/one-killed-three-injured-as-nevada-plane-crashes-50113?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/one-killed-three-injured-as-nevada-plane-crashes-50113?cp

Goa beach tar balls to be sent to oil refineries

Black thick tar balls that surfaced in various beaches in Goa will now be sent to oil refineries to avoid further pollution.

Goa Tourism minister Nilkant Halarnkar said, “truck loads of tar balls collected from several beaches in Goa will be sent to refineries instead of disposing them off in open fields or elsewhere.”

“Although the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has said that these tar balls will not create any pollution as they are made of petroleum products but still we are not taking any chances,” he told reporters here on Sunday.

The minister said tar balls surfacing on the coastal state’s beaches was an annual phenomenon but this time, their presence was much more.

Majority of beaches were hit with tar balls which began appearing since last Monday and continued for a week. The worst affected were beaches in South Goa.

Halarnkar said the state has roped in the Coastguard, Navy and NIO to go deep into the issue.

“Some ship had mischievously dumped oil in the sea off Goa coast in the international waters which had washed ashore,” the minister said.

Halarnkar said since the state government has no control over international waters, the issue needs to be sorted out with the help of defence forces, who keep vigil in high seas.

He said the tar ball phenomenon will have no impact on the tourism season that will begin from October.

55 killed in Pak suicide blast

A suicide bomber struck a rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 54 people in the second major attack this week and piling pressure on a U.S.-backed government overwhelmed by a flood crisis.

Pakistan's Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast and said it would launch attacks in the United States and Europe "very soon" -- repeating a threat to strike Western targets in response to drone attacks that have targeted its leadership.

In Washington, the White House condemned the Quetta attack on a Shi'ite rally expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying it was "even more reprehensible" because it came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as Pakistan reels from disastrous flooding.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said the threat by the al Qaeda-linked Taliban against the United States and Europe could not be discounted.

The attack came just two days after Washington added the Pakistani Taliban to its list of "foreign terrorist organizations" and charged its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, with plotting a bombing that killed seven CIA agents at a U.S. base in Afghanistan last December.

In Quetta, dozens of dead and wounded people lay in pools of blood as fires engulfed vehicles. Senior police official Hamid Shakeel told Reuters at least 54 people were killed and about 160 wounded.

Hours later, the Taliban said the bombing was revenge for the killing of radical Sunni clerics by Shi'ites, further challenging Pakistan's unpopular civilian government.

Taliban facing financial crisis, says US General

Noting that the Taliban has been driven to desperation around Marjah in southern Afghanistan, a top US general stationed there has said that the terrorist outfit is facing an acute financial crisis.

"We have intelligence that indicates to us that he (Taliban) has got a financial crisis on his hands," US Marine Corps Major General Richard Mills said in a video-briefing from the province to the Pentagon press room.

The targeting of the Taliban's opium "treasury" and various steps to undermine the terrorist organisation's opium profits has led to shortage of funds, he said.

As a result, Mills said, based in sensitive intelligence, he believes that local insurgency in the Helmand province has less than one-half of what they had last year in operating funds.

"He (the Taliban) has a cash-flow problem," Mills said, adding that the Taliban does not have the money needed to buy the weapons needed in order to continue conflicts.

Combat mission in Iraq is over, says Obama

Formally declaring that combat mission in Iraq is over US President Barack Obama has said that this milestone should serve as a message to the world that it intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in the 21st century.

"This milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that our future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment. It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young

century," Obama said in his address to the nation.

In his live televised speech from his Oval office, Obama said tonight he is announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.

"Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country. This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office," he said.

"Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq's Security Forces and support its government and people. That is what we have done," he said.

The US has removed nearly 100,000 US troops from Iraq. It has closed or transferred hundreds of bases to the Iraqis and has moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq, he asserted.

"Ending this war is not only in Iraq's interest it is in our own. The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people," Obama said.

"We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home,” he said.

“We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilisation," the President said.

Death toll from Lahore bombings rises to 31

The death toll from three suicide bombings in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore rose to 31 on Thursday as six people succumbed to their injuries, a rescue official said.

Three suicide bombers targeted a Shiite mourning procession made up of thousands of people on Wednesday at the moment of the breaking of the fast in the holy month of Ramadan.

"Thirty-one people have died and a total of 281 were injured," Fahim Jehanzeb, a spokesman for Lahore's rescue agency told AFP, adding that he feared more would die from their injuries.

The string of attacks led to an outpouring of fury in the city, with mourners trying to torch a nearby police station.

It was the in first major attack in Pakistan since devastating floods engulfed a fifth of the volatile country over the past month in its worst ever disaster.

Lahore, a city of eight million near Pakistan's border with India, has been increasingly subject to Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked attacks in a nationwide bombing campaign that has killed more than 3,500 people in three years.