29 November 2014

India: Pakistani agencies backing terror groups

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrives to lay the foundation stone for the Central Forensic Science Laboratory on the outskirts of Gauhati, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. Singh, the second-most powerful official in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hit out at Pakistan on Saturday, accusing its state agencies of using terror to try to destabilize India, and rejecting Pakistan's assertion that non-state actors are involved in terrorism.
India's home minister hit out at Pakistan on Saturday, accusing its state agencies of using terror to try to destabilize India, and rejecting Pakistan's assertion that non-state actors are involved in terrorism.
"Pakistan is continuously engaged in destabilizing India, but says non-state actors are behind the acts of terror. I want to ask Pakistan if its Inter-Services Intelligence is also a non-state actor," Rajnath Singh said, referring to Pakistan's national intelligence agency.

28 November 2014

Animals sacrificed in Nepal to bring good luck

A butcher with a butcher knife stand to participate in a mass sacrifice ceremony at Gadhimai temple in the jungles of Bara district, about 160 miles (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Friday, Nov. 28, 2014. A festival believed to be the largest animal sacrifice ritual in the world began Friday in southern Nepal, where devotees believe the sacrifices bring good luck and a Hindu goddess will grant their wishes. Organizers and the authorities defend the festival held every five years as a generations-old tradition, though animal rights activists decry it as barbaric. During the 2009 festival, an estimated 200,000 animals and birds were sacrificed.
A festival believed to be the largest animal sacrifice ritual in the world began Friday in southern Nepal, where devotees believe the sacrifices bring good luck and a Hindu goddess will grant their wishes.

27 November 2014

10 Things to See: A week of top AP photos

An Afghan laborer pauses as he works at a charcoal shop on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. In the winter, prices of wood and charcoal rise among all other necessities for Afghans.
An Afghan laborer pauses as he works at a charcoal shop on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. In the winter, prices of wood and charcoal rise among all other necessities for Afghans.  

26 November 2014

Rickshaw research reveals extreme Delhi pollution

In this Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014 photo, U.S. scientist Joshua Apte monitors pollution levels on his laptop as he travels in an open-aired auto-rickshaw during rush-hour traffic in New Delhi, India. Apte has alarming findings for anyone who spends time on or near the roads in this city of 25 million, with numbers far worse than the ones that have already led the World Health Organization to rank New Delhi as the world’s most polluted city. Average pollution levels, depending on the pollutant, were 50 percent to 8 times higher on the road than urban background readings, including official ambient air pollution measures, according to research by Apte and his partners at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi.
The three-wheeled rickshaw lurched through New Delhi's commuter-clogged streets with an American scientist and several air pollution monitors in the back seat. Car horns blared. A scrappy scooter buzzed by belching black smoke from its tailpipe. One of the monitors spiked.
Joshua Apte has alarming findings for anyone who spends time on or near the roads in this city of 25 million. The numbers are far worse than the ones that have already led the World Health Organization to rank New Delhi as the world's most polluted city.

25 November 2014

Thousands vote in Indian Kashmir amid boycott call

Kashmiris stand in queue to cast their votes outside a polling station during the first phase of voting to the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections at Shadipora, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Thousands lined up to cast their votes amid a boycott call by Muslim separatist groups who reject India's sovereignty over the disputed Himalayan region.
Thousands of Kashmiris cast votes in state elections Tuesday despite a boycott call by Muslim separatist groups that reject India's sovereignty over the disputed Himalayan region.
Voter turnout was high at 70 percent despite cold temperatures and overcast skies, the Election Commission said. It described the first phase of the elections as "flawless" with no incidents marring the polls.
Paramilitary soldiers and police officers patrolled near polling stations.

Bollywood women soar but ask: Where's the money?

In this Aug. 23, 2014 file photo, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra speaks during a promotional event for her film "Mary Kom" in Ahmadabad, India. This is Bollywood’s year of the woman. Some of the biggest hits in India's prolific movie industry this year have female leads in female-oriented stories. In “Mary Kom,” Chopra plays a female Olympic bronze-medal winning boxer. Previously, women were relegated to playing the male lead actor’s girlfriend, sister or mother in subservient roles reflecting the traditional dominance of men in Indian society. But for all their box-office success and newfound prominence, Bollywood actresses are asking: Where is the money?
This is Bollywood's year of the woman. Some of the biggest hits in India's prolific movie industry this year have female leads in female-oriented stories.
In this summer's surprise hit, "Queen," Kangana Ranaut is the spunky heroine who embarks on her honeymoon alone after she is jilted the day before her big fat Indian wedding. In "Mary Kom," Priyanka Chopra plays a female Olympic bronze medal-winning boxer. Previously, women were relegated to playing the male lead's girlfriend, sister or mother in subservient roles reflecting the traditional dominance of men in Indian society.

23 November 2014

6 new Catholic saints at a glance

A faithful holds an Indian flag and a statuette of priest Elias Chavara prior to the start of a Canonization Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014.
Pope Francis on Sunday canonized six new saints, two Indians and four Italians, all of whom dedicated their lives to helping the poor.
Here is a look at the new saints: 

Pope canonizes 2 Indians, 4 Italians

A faithful holds an Indian flag and a statuette of priest Elias Chavara prior to the start of a Canonization Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014.
Pope Francis has canonized six new saints, including a priest and a nun from the Indian state of Kerala, in a packed ceremony in St. Peter's Square.

20 November 2014

10 Things to See: A week of top AP photos

Adnan Khan directs his horse to perform in an attempt to attract people visiting Clifton beach in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. Khan earns his living by providing the horse ride to customers visiting a beach.
Adnan Khan directs his horse to perform in an attempt to attract people visiting Clifton beach in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. Khan earns his living by providing the horse ride to customers visiting a beach. 

17 November 2014

Poland votes in local elections

Election posters for local elections are fixed in a street close to a polling station in Lomianki near Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014. The voting is considered a test for the main parties ahead of the parliamentary elections next year. Some 30 million voters are eligible to choose nearly 47,000 councilors and 2,500 local administration leaders on Sunday, but observers are concerned about the possibility of a low turnout. Opinion polls gave a narrow lead to the governing pro-business Civic Platform party, over the nationalist opposition Law and Justice.
Local elections were held in Poland on Sunday, a vote considered to be a test for the main parties before national ballots next year.
Around 30 million eligible voters were choosing nearly 47,000 councilors and 2,500 local administration leaders, amid concerns the turnout would be low.

16 November 2014

Comet scientists take break after 4 straight days

This is a combination photo of two images released by the European Space Agency, ESA, Sunday Nov. 16, 2014. ESA says it provides strong indication that Philae touched down for the first time almost precisely where intended. The photo on the left was taken about 3 min 34 sec before touchdown, the photo on the right 1 min 26 sec after by the navigation camera (NAVCAM) on board Rosetta as the orbiter flew over the (intended) Philae landing site on Nov. 12. The touchdown is seen as a dark area in the lower center of the right image which is considered as strong indication that the lander touched down at this spot (possibly raising dust from the impact). They were taken from a distance of about 15 km from the surface, Since landing Wednesday on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko some 311 million miles (500 million kilometers) away, the lander has performed a series of scientific tests.
The European Space Agency says that its scientists are taking a bit of a break after working for four days around the clock since the pioneering lander Philae touched down on a comet.
ESA spokeswoman Jocelyn Landeau-Constantin told The Associated Press that most of the agency's scientific teams were resting Sunday "after several sleepless nights."

Russian TV claims it has photo of downing of MH17

A pro-Russian rebel touches the MH17 wreckage at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. A team of Malaysian investigators visited the site along with members of the OSCE mission in Ukraine for the first time since the air crash last week.
Russian state television has released a satellite photograph that it claims shows that a Ukrainian fighter jet shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. But the U.S. government dismissed the report as preposterous and online commentators called the photo a fake.
All 298 people aboard the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed when it was shot down July 17 over a rebel-held area of Ukraine. Ukraine and the West have blamed the attack on Russia-backed rebels using a ground-to-air missile.

Space agency: Now-silent lander does main tasks

This image from Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera, released by the European Space Agency ESA on Nov. 13, 2014 shows the Philae lander on Nov. 12, 2014 Philae landed Nov. 12, next to a cliff that largely blocked sunlight from reaching its solar panels on the 4-kilometer-wide (2.5-mile-wide) 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet. The head of the European comet mission says scientists will listen for signals from the Philae lander Saturday Nov. 15, 2014 but think it is unlikely they will establish any kind of communication soon. Controllers at the European Space Agency on Friday ordered the lander to perform a maneuver intended to pull it out of a shadow on the comet so that solar panels could recharge the depleted batteries. “We don’t know if the charge will ever be high enough to operate the lander again,” Paolo Ferri, ESA’s head of mission operations, told The Associated Press.
The pioneering lander Philae completed its primary mission of exploring the comet's surface and returned plenty of data before depleted batteries forced it to go silent, the European Space Agency said Saturday.
"All of our instruments could be operated and now it's time to see what we got," ESA's blog quoted lander manager Stephan Ulamec as saying.

Official: witnesses in army slaying wrongly jailed

In this July 3, 2014 file photo, a state police vehicle sits parked outside a warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon, in Mexico state, Mexico. Two survivors of the June 30 mass slaying by Mexican soldiers who have been jailed for weapons possession are innocent and should be released immediately, the outgoing president of the National Commission on Human Rights says. Raul Plascencia says the two women were prostitutes hired to accompany a leader of the group that met in the abandoned warehouse.
Two survivors of a mass slaying by Mexican soldiers who have been jailed for weapons possession are innocent and should be released immediately, the outgoing president of the National Commission on Human Rights says.
Raul Plascencia told The Associated Press that the two women, who his commission says were tortured and sexually threatened into backing the army's version of the incident, were not affiliated with the 22 suspected gang members who were killed. Rather, they were prostitutes hired to accompany a leader of the group that met in an abandoned warehouse in southern Mexico on June 29. The leader was one of two men who escaped from the troops early on June 30.

15 November 2014

Federal ban sought for animal testing on cosmetics

In this Nov. 2, 2014 file photo, Rep.-elect, Don Beyer, D-Va. celebrates during an election party in Arlington, Va. Hoping to build off recent bans in Europe and India, opponents of animal testing for cosmetics plan to make a big push for a similar prohibition in the US. The effort could be a tough sell in a Republican-controlled Congress. Beyer plans to take the lead when the new Congress takes office next January. He is succeeding retiring Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., who has introduced legislation that would prohibit testing cosmetic products on animals, as well as the sale of any new cosmetics if the final product or any component was developed using animal testing.
Hoping to build off recent bans in Europe and India, opponents of animal testing for cosmetics plan to make a big push for a similar prohibition in the United States. The effort could be a tough sell in a Republican-controlled Congress.
Virginia Democrat Don Beyer is expected to take the lead on the issue when the new Congress convenes next January. He is succeeding retiring Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., who has introduced legislation that would prohibit testing cosmetic products on animals, as well as the sale of any new cosmetics if the final product or any component was developed using animal testing.

Officials: Bad drugs likely killed 13 Indian women

Tainted drugs apparently killed 13 women who underwent sterilization procedures in central India after autopsies ruled out any surgery faults, officials said Saturday.
Amar Agarwal, Chhattisgarh state's health minister, said a preliminary finding suggested that a poisonous chemical compound, zinc phosphate, got mixed with the drugs at the manufacturing firm whose owner has been arrested. Government laboratories are expected to give a final report by Monday.

14 November 2014

Drug maker arrested in India sterilization deaths

Dr. R.K. Gupta, center, the doctor who conducted sterilization procedures after which at least a dozen women died, is interrogated by police in Bilaspur, India, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014. Gupta insisted he didn't do anything wrong, even though he said he used to perform up to 10 times more surgeries a day than allowed. He had performed 83 surgeries in six hours, a clear breach of government protocol, which prohibits surgeons from performing more than 30 sterilizations in a day, Dr. S.K. Mandal, the chief medical officer of Chhattisgarh state said.
Indian police have arrested the director of a drug manufacturing firm that allegedly supplied medication to women in a mass sterilization that left 13 dead, news reports said Friday.
Press Trust of India reported that Ramesh Mahawar of Mahawar Pharma Pvt Ltd and his son were arrested and charged with fraud. Police Superintendent O.P. Pal told PTI that the men were arrested on the complaint of food and drug administration officials.

Shiite holy month sees show of strength in Baghdad

In this Monday, Nov. 10, 2014 photo, people pass under Shiite banners in Ghadeer district in southeastern Baghdad, Iraq. Religious banners and portraits of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, hang from homes, bridges, stores and even colleges across much of Baghdad and can be seen even in Sunni-majority areas. They also adorn government buildings and hundreds of security checkpoints across the city, reinforcing Sunni fears that Shiite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is no less sectarian than his predecessor Nouri al-Maliki, whose policies were widely seen as aggravating Sunni grievances.
Red and green Shiite banners line the streets of Baghdad, portraits of religious figures and slain "martyrs" stare down from billboards, hymns blare from shops and cafes, and grim-faced militiamen prowl the streets in pickup trucks.
The holy month of Muharram has brought an unprecedented show of strength by Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, underscoring its domination of the bitterly fractured capital and the vulnerability of the once-dominant Sunnis, while raising fears of a new round of sectarian cleansing by Shiite militias allied with the government.

US, India end impasse that threatened WTO pact

An Indian woman harvests paddy in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, one of the world's largest grain exporters, Thursday, Nov. 13 2014. The United States and India said Thursday they had resolved a dispute over stockpiling of food by governments, clearing a major stumbling block to a deal to boost world trade. India had insisted on its right to subsidize grains under a national policy to support hundreds of millions of impoverished farmers and provide food security amid high inflation. The U.S. and others in the World Trade Organization, meanwhile, were more focused on ensuring their food exporters weren't disadvantaged by the possibility of surplus Indian grain flooding the world market.
The United States and India said Thursday they had resolved a dispute over stockpiling of food by the Indian government, clearing a major stumbling block to a deal to boost world trade.
India had insisted on its right to subsidize grains under a national policy to support hundreds of millions of impoverished farmers and provide food security amid high inflation.

13 November 2014

India doctor arrested, denies role in women deaths

Dr. R.K. Gupta, center, the doctor who conducted sterilization procedures after which at least a dozen women died, is interrogated by police in Bilaspur, India, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014. Gupta insisted he didn't do anything wrong, even though he said he used to perform up to 10 times more surgeries a day than allowed. He had performed 83 surgeries in six hours, a clear breach of government protocol, which prohibits surgeons from performing more than 30 sterilizations in a day, Dr. S.K. Mandal, the chief medical officer of Chhattisgarh state said.
The doctor who conducted sterilization procedures after which 13 women died in central India was arrested, but insisted he didn't do anything wrong — even though he said he used to perform up to 10 times more surgeries a day than allowed.
Dr. R.K. Gupta, who had been hiding since Saturday's operations, was arrested at a relative's home near Bilaspur city late Wednesday, said Dr. S.K. Mandal, the chief medical officer of Chhattisgarh state.

Cosmic first: European spacecraft lands on comet

The image released by the European Space Agency ESA on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014 shows an artist rendering by the ATG medialab depicting lander Philae separating from Rosetta mother spaceship and descending to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. European Space Agency said Wednesday that the landing craft separated from Rosetta probe for descent to comet 67P.
Landing with a bounce after traveling 4 billion miles, a European spacecraft made history Wednesday by successfully reaching the icy, dusty surface of a speeding comet — a cosmic first designed to answer big questions about the universe.

Scientists: US-China pact won't slow warming much

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping drink a toast at a lunch banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014. Obama is on a state visit after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The United States and China pledged Wednesday to take ambitious action to limit greenhouse gases, aiming to inject fresh momentum into the global fight against climate change ahead of high-stakes climate negotiations next year.
Don't expect the landmark U.S.-China climate change agreement to nudge the world's rising thermostat downward much on its own, scientists say.
While they hail it as a start, experts who study heat-trapping carbon dioxide don't see the deal, announced Wednesday in Beijing, making significant progress without other countries joining in.
The math shows that even with the agreement, the globe is still rushing toward another 2-degree temperature rise — a level that world leaders have pledged to avoid as too dangerous.

11 November 2014

Hacker-hit Tibetan monks 'detach from attachments'

Jamyang Palden, a 30-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monk uses his laptop to access his email at a cafe with WiFi connection in Dharmsala, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2014. Buffeted by constant cyberattacks, monks like Palden are being taught a new Information Age creed: ‘Detach from Attachments.’ The Internet safety slogan is an example of how human rights defenders are seeking creative ways to protect activists from electronic espionage.
Buffeted by persistent cyberattacks, Tibetan monks are giving new meaning to their ancient creed: Detach from attachments.
"Attachment can lead you to all sort of trouble and we Buddhists believe that non-attachment alone can lead you to happiness," 30-year-old monk Jamyang Palden told The Associated Press at a cafe in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, before giving the philosophy its Information Age twist: "We have to learn to be suspicious of email attachments."

6 November 2014

10 Things to See: A week of top AP photos

A young Tibetan exile Pema Lhamo, 8, fits herself into a box to enact her escape scene, in Dharamsala, India, Sept. 28, 2014. Lhamo fled to India when she was 3 years old in a box and now lives with her grandmother. She is presently studying in a Tibetan Children's Village School.
A young Tibetan exile Pema Lhamo, 8, fits herself into a box to enact her escape scene, in Dharamsala, India, Sept. 28, 2014. Lhamo fled to India when she was 3 years old in a box and now lives with her grandmother. She is presently studying in a Tibetan Children's Village School.   

4 November 2014

Daredevil Nik Wallenda

This photo provided by Discovery Communication shows Nik Wallenda walking across the Chicago skyline blindfolded for Discovery Channel's Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014.
This photo provided by Discovery Communication shows Nik Wallenda walking across the Chicago skyline blindfolded for Discovery Channel's Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014.