Somewhere in Assam....

A dead elephant is carried by a crane before being buried, in Guwahati on Friday. The eighteen- year-old wild elephant, knocked down by a train on April 23 and rescued by forest officials, died in a state zoological park on Friday .

SC puts Godhra probe on fast track

More than six years after it stayed the trials in nine key Gujarat riot cases including the Godhra train burning case, the Supreme Court showed the green light for swift trial of accused by setting up six fasttrack courts for day-to-day hearing in these cases. The court ordered filing of additional charge sheets against accused persons brought to book by its Special Investigation Team (SIT), following up on an earlier order which was seen as an indictment of the shoddy probe of Gujarat police which left many of those allegedly guilty of the carnage out of the prosecution net. Even though the court ruled that the trials, at least for the time being, would be conducted in Gujarat, it took into account apprehensions of victims, conferring vast powers on the SIT which is supposed to be autonomous of reigning preferences in Ahmedabad. On crucial issues related to the trial — from protection of witnesses to selection of public prosecutors — SIT will take the final call. “The conduct of trials has to be resumed on a day-to-day basis — keeping in view the fact that the incidents are of February 2002 and the trials already stand delayed by seven years. The need for early completion of sensitive cases, particularly in cases involving communal disturbances, cannot be overstated,” said a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam. The SC requested the chief justice of Gujarat High Court to choose senior judges to head the fast-track courts, three of which would function at Ahmedabad to try cases of riots at Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gam, Gulbarg society, as well as the Godhra arson of Sabarmati Express which sparked off the state-wide mayhem. The other three courts would be set up at Mehsana to try Ode and Mehsana riot cases, at Sabarkantha to try the case involving murder of British nationals and the one at Anand to try cases in that district. The court made plain its intention to engage with the matter. Thus, even though it did not accept the petitioner’s plea to shift the trial outside Gujarat, it stressed that it was not closing that option altogether. It also fully appreciated the concern about protection of witnesses against the accused, saying that the call taken by SIT chief, former CBI director R K Raghavan, on the kind of measures needed would be final. In fact, the Bench said if required, some witnesses could be provided security by paramilitary forces, and if the threat to their life was grave, they could even be relocated to other states under an arrangement to be worked out by the Centre. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi could face more trouble in the Supreme Court for his alleged statement calling the court’s order on Monday for a probe into his role in the Gujarat riots a Congress conspiracy. The apex court on Friday decided to hear a contempt petition filed by Prashant Bhushan, amicus curiae in the case, against the chief minister who has been projected by many senior BJP leaders as L K Advani’s successor.
CASES UNDER SIT PROBE: SC has directed SIT to ensure fair investigation and trial in the following cases of 2002.
GODHRA CARNAGE : On February 27, 2002 59 persons, mainly kar sevaks, killed in S-6 coach of the Sabarmati express, here in Panchmahal district, sparking off state wide riots. 18 chargesheets filed by Gujarat police, 116 arrested. Interpol notices issued against two accused. NARODA GAM : February 28, 11 persons were burnt alive in this locality. SIT has arrested ex-minister Maya Kodnani taking the total arrests to 79. The survivors relocated to Ramol. NARODA PATIA : 95 persons were killed on February 28, and several women raped. Kodnani and VHP leader Jaideep Patel arrested by SIT. Total arrested are 67, most, including prime accused Babu Bajrangi out on bail.
GULBARG SOCIETY : Ex-Congress MP Ahsan Jafri and 67 others were killed here on February 28. The SC directed SIT to probe chief minister Narendra Modi on Jafri’s widow, Zakia’s petition. 77 arrested so far.
SARDARPURA : 33 persons asphyxiated and burnt in this village of Vijapur taluka of Mehsana district on March 1. Accused include former sarpanch of the village. 76 arrested so far.
ODE : At least 27 persons were killed in this village of Anand district on March 1. So far 95 have been arrested. SIT recently issued red corner notices against 5 NRIs in this case.
PRANTIJ : At least 11 persons including 2 British nationals were killed on the highway by a mob. Their wives have filed a civil suit against Modi. Six persons have been arrested.
DIPDA DARWAJA : 14 persons killed and dumped in a sewer on February 28, in this village of Mehsana district. At least 82 persons arrested, most of them out on bail.

Somewhere in Chennai....

A dinosaur model made entirely of roses on display at the Chennai Flower Show at the YMCA ground in Royapettah.

WHO turns to Pune for flu vaccine rollout

India could soon be part of a global hunt to create the world’s first pandemic vaccine against the deadly H1N1 influenza virus. The World Health Organisation is planning to contact Pune-based vaccine makers Serum Institute of India, to see whether it would have the capacity to produce in mass scale a vaccine against H1N1, once the technology is ready. WHO’s director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research Marie-Paule Kieny said not a single company in India makes influenza vaccines. “However, over the past two years, we have been funding the SII along with similar vaccine manufactures in four countries to help them acquire technology to start producing influenza vaccines.” “We will discuss with SII whether they are ready for bulk production of a vaccine against H1N1. This would be of great interest to India and the WHO, as some manufacturers in India have the capacity to produce large volumes of vaccines,” Dr Kieny said. Dr Kieny said drug makers globally would shift to producing pandemic flu vaccines within a few weeks to protect against the new H1N1 strain. According to her, WHO is discussing with drug companies whether and when to stop making seasonal flu vaccine production and shift to making one for the new H1N1 strain. Tests have shown the seasonal influenza vaccine would have little effect against those infected with H1N1 flu, making production of a new vaccine more important.

Exports down 33% in March

India’s exports and imports are getting hit big time. While exports declined by 33% in March 2009 to $11.5 billion against $17.2 billion from the same month last year, imports dipped 34% to $15.5 billion from $23.6 billion. With external shipments contracting for six months in a row, the country’s exports aggregated $168.7 billion in 2008-09, growing marginally by 3.4% over 2007-08. Imports, which have been falling for last three months, recorded a growth of 14.3% in 2008-09 to $287.7 billion as against $251.6 billion in 2007-08. Because of the sharp fall in imports, the trade deficit in March 2009 declined to $4.1 billion as against $6.3 billion. However, during 2008-09, the trade deficit increased to $119 billion from $88.5 billion in the previous year. Imports fell mainly due to decline in the oil import bill with falling crude prices. Oil imports bill at $3.8 billion in March fell 58%. However, during 2008-09 oil imports increased by 17% to $93.2 billion as against $79.7 billion in 2007-08. Because of the slowdown in the economic activities, non-oil imports also dropped by 19% in March. However, due to sharp increase in the first nine months, non-oil imports bill in 2008-09 went up by 13.2% to $194.6 billion from $171.9 billion. Economists feel it would take a few more months before the contraction bottoms out. Federation of Indian Export Organisation president A Sakthivel said as inventories in Europe will be over by August, they have started visiting India and international trade fairs for procurement. Sakthivel said that India’s exports will pick up from July onwards and may touch the $185-billion-mark in 2009-10 on the back of diversification to countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. However, Icrier director Rajiv Kumar said, “India will be lucky if it can retain the 2008-09 level of exports’’. The slowdown in the non-oil imports also not augurs well for the economy. “The fall in non-oil imports during January-March, if concentrated in the areas of machinery, equipments and project goods, would entail slowdown in the industrial production,’’Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania said.

Maximum City , Minimum Votes

Polling percentages in Mumbai and Thane showed a further dip after officials came out with the final tally, leaving heavyweights of every political party wondering where their pre-poll strategies to draw out voters had gone wrong and how the abysmally low turnout would affect the final results. Only 41.28% of Mumbai’s voters came out to vote on Thursday, an almost 6% plunge from the 2004 figure of 47.15%. The overall Mumbai-Thane polling percentage on Thursday, at 41.13%, was almost exactly similar to the Mumbai-only figure. This, too, was lower than the 2004 turnout of 44.35%. Leaders of every major party went into a huddle on Friday. The netas admitted to a growing schism between political parties and voters but some politicians also pointed fingers at the voters themselves, saying the latter did not have the right to criticise the system if they were not interested in changing it.

I did manage to vote.....

After Bird Flu...,now we have Swine Flu...Next is what?

After SARS, Avian Influenza..here comes H1N1 Influenza A. Above is an advisory issued by the Government of India.WHO decided to call the flu "H1N1 Influenza A".

The concern was raised first by the American agriculture officials to change the name for the virus from "swine flu" to something else. Their worry: the name "swine flu" suggests a problem with pork products.

Swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by type A influenza viruses in pigs. The swine flu virus doesn’t nor- mally infect humans, which is why the current strain is a cause of concern. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people. What are the symptoms? The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of regular flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills confusion, vomiting and fatigue. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting. Severe illness -- pneumonia and respiratory failure -- have been reported with swine flu infection in people. In children, the symptoms include trouble in breathing, bluish skin colour, being irritable, fever and rashes. How does swine flu spread? Swine influenza A (H1N1) virus spreads in the same way as seasonal flu. Flu spreads mainly through coughs and sneezes of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their mouth or nose.

How can someone with the flu infect others? Infected people can pass the infection to others a day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick.

Are there medicines to treat swine flu? Yes. CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for treatment and/or prevention of infection. Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body.

What precautions can be taken against swine flu? There is no vaccine available to protect against swine flu. But there are everyday actions that can check the spread of germs: ■ Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

■ Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.

■ Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

■ Avoid close contact with sick people.

■ If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Is it safe to eat pork? Yes. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.

How serious is swine flu infection? Like seasonal flu, swine flu in humans can vary in severity from mild to severe. The infection can also be fatal.

Is it safe to travel to other countries? WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of border. But it is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention.The current level of influenza pandemic alert has been raised from phase 4 to 5.What does this mean? All countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans. Countries should remain on high alert for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia. There should be heightened surveillance, early detection and treatment of cases, and infection control at health facilities.

The change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharmaceutical industry and the business community that certain actions should now be undertaken with increased urgency, and at an accelerated pace.