Kids’ Fashion Show by Lilliput Kidswear

New Delhi, 26th March 2011: Lilliput, a dominant player in the Indian Kidswear industry, showcased their Spring–Summer Collection 2011 at the Kids’ Fashion Show, held at Roots to Wings School’s Annual Day Function. Kids were delighted to walk the ramp in smart Lilliput Collection which made them look stylish & fashionable. The Spring-Summer Collection flaunts the liveliness of spring and the warm kiss of summer. No wonder, the audience was surprised to see such little wonders walk the ramp with full enthusiasm & passion.
Lilliput Fashion Show witnessed 25 little champs displaying the fabulous collection ranging from ‘a tale of action and adventure’ for boys to ‘sunny delight’ for girls. The ramp walk of a charming little girl in ‘Glitterati’ outfit can give any adult model a run for their money. A delightful little boy in colourful ‘Soccer Player’ outfit accompanied by an attractive girl in ‘Rosy Glow’ dress made a perfect little pair of the show. The charm of the young models was enhanced by matching accessories like stylish fine flowery head band and baseball cap. The Spring-Summer collection is fresh and contemporary using fabrics like poplin, linen and other wicking (perspiration relief) materials suitable for the sultry weather.
Mr. Sanjeev Narula, Managing Director, Lilliput Kidswear Ltd. commented, “This Fashion Show provides an excellent platform for us to acquaint the audience with the latest range of our high-quality and designer collection which are available in the market at affordable prices. Children are influenced easily and on seeing these little models walk the ramp in new Spring-Summer collection, we are sure they would want to wear the range too. It gives us immense pleasure to provide an opportunity to these wonderful kids to showcase their talent.”
The Spring-Summer Collection offers a complete wardrobe with exciting options in strappy sundresses, short button-me ups, bohemian skirts, classic vintage denims, brawny bermudas, floral shirts and bright t-shirts providing a complete stylish look to the little one.The ecstatic little models received a standing ovation from the audience who took everybody with awe by exhibiting the Lilliput collection in the most enthusiastic manner.

Myanmar Earthquake

More than 60 people were killed and 90 injured in the strong earthquake that struck Myanmar Thursday near its border with Thailand and the affected areas still remained cut off.Tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok, almost 800 kilometres from the epicentre, Hanoi and parts of China. The US Geological Survey measured the magnitude 6.8.A Myanmar official said dozens of people were killed in areas close to the epicentre and more than 240 buildings had collapsed.Deaths were mainly reported from Tarlay, Mine Lin and Tachileik townships. About 90 people were injured from those areas. Efforts are on to reach some more affected areas.Across the border, Thai authorities said a 52-year-old woman was killed in Mae Sai district after a wall in her house collapsed.Terrified residents across the region fled their homes after tall buildings swayed during the quake, hospitals and schools were evacuated during the tremors.
7.0 Mw - MYANMAR Preliminary Earthquake Report Magnitude7.0 Mw
Date-Time * 24 Mar 2011 13:55:12 UTC
* 24 Mar 2011 20:25:12 near epicenter
* 24 Mar 2011 17:55:12 standard time in your timezone
Location 20.705N 99.948E Depth 10 km
Distances * 90 km (56 miles) N (8 degrees) of Chiang Rai, Thailand
* 168 km (104 miles) SSW (213 degrees) of Yunjinghong, Yunnan, China
* 233 km (145 miles) NNW (337 degrees) of Muang Nan, Thailand
* 235 km (146 miles) NNE (25 degrees) of Chiang Mai, Thailand
* 413 km (257 miles) NW (317 degrees) of VIENTIANE, Laos
Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 15.4 km; Vertical 5.8 km
Media Agencies

India developing 5000 km-range Agni missile: Antony

Defence Minister A K Antony said today that India is developing a 5,000 kilometers-range Agni ballistic missile. Addressing a conference of heads of DRDO laboratories in New Delhi, he said, India has reached an appreciable level of competence in missile technologies, with a reach capability of 3,500 kilometres. He said, Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO is developing Agni missile with a capacity to reach 5000 kilometres. The Agni-series also includes missile variants with ranges between 700 and 2,500 km.The 5,000 km-range Agni-V is a further advancement of the existing systems and is expected to be test-fired later this year. Other missiles developed by the DRDO are the Prithviand its variants with ranges upto 350 km, surface-to-air Akash missile defence system with a range of 25-30 km and the short- range anti-tank NAG missile.
The Trishul air defence missile system programme was scrapped by the DRDO after it was marred by delays. In his address, the Defence Minister asked the DRDO to speed up the development trials and induction of Interceptor Missile as part of the credible Ballistic Missile Defence, BMD.To reduce cases of suicides and fratricides in the armed forces, Antony asked the DRDO to to undertake a detailed research program to make an assessment of stress profile and mental health of the soldiers.Media Agencies

Yuvraj knock carry into semis final

India knocked defending champions Australia out of the cricket World Cup with a thrilling five-wicket victory to set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash against arch rivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Thursday.Team India after restricting Australia to 260 for 6, largely built around Ricky Ponting's 104, the Indians held their nerves to overhaul the target with 14 balls to spare with Yuvraj Singh 57 not out, Sachin Tendulkar 53 and being the star batting performers.A scintillating of a contest,where fortune fluctuated from one team to the other before Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina 34 with their steady knock put balance in India's favour with an unbeaten 74 run partnership to send a capacity crowd at the Sardar Patel stadium into a frenzy in Ahmedabad: A clinical display by the Indians as they ended Australia's reign as world champions and have given a huge boost to their campaign to regain the coveted trophy after a gap of 28 years.Yuvraj Singh slammed Brett Lee to the boundary to bring about the dramatic victory as the Indian players and officals hugged each to celebrate the triumph amidst deafening cheers from nearly 43,000 spectators.India will now travel to Mohali for the much anticipated semi-final match against Pakistan:

Ponting 118-ball 104, Brad Haddin (53) and David Hussey (38 not out) were the other notable performers for the defending champions. For the Indians, Yuvraj Singh (2/44), R Ashwin (2/52) and Zaheer Khan (2/53) were the wicket-takers.

The Indian innings began with a flourish as both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag went on the offensive and unleashed a flurry of boundaries in the first five overs.Speedster Shaun Tait came in for some harsh punishment as he repeatedly strayed in line and length and was promptly despatched to the boundary. He also bowled a few wides and no balls to compound the problems for Australia.Sehwag, who was not in his destructive best, survived a caught behind appeal in the very first over off Brett Lee. The Australians asked for a review and the television replays suggested that there was no edge.The duo put on 44 brisk runs for the opening wicket before Shane Watson provided the breakthrough by evicting Sehwag (15) who paid the price for playing a poor shot to a bouncing delivery.Sehwag was cramped for room but he still went for the pull shot and top edged the ball for Michael Hussey to take a simple catch at square leg region.

The left-handed Gautam Gambhir, who joined the action after Sehwag's dismissal, was quite content in playing second fiddle to Tendulkar who completed a mind-boggling 18,000 ODI runs when he reached 45.Tendulkar was rather lucky to get a reprieve when his late cut landed just short of Jason Krejza who appeared to be a bit slow in coming forward. Lee was the unlucky bowler.A few minutes later, Tendulkar unleashed a delectable flick towards the square-leg region for two runs to notch up his 94th ODI half century to get a thunderous applause from the capacity crowd.

TKDL-Livelihood of Large Population in World

TKDL crossed many hurdles and impediments and have been successfully negotiated and benchmarks created and set in place. TKDL team with its organized and objective activity has brought TKDL to this stage of international acceptability. More than 150 experts in the area of traditional medicine, Information Technology, IPRs and Scientists spent almost ten years for this task.Speaking at the inaugural session of the International Conference on Utilization of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as a model for the protection of Traditional Knowledge here today, Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Vice President, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said, “Today, India is well equipped to protect 2lakh,26 thousand formulations within a time range of ‘days and weeks’ and without any cost, whereas in the cases of ‘Neem’ and ‘Turmeric’ the country had to incur huge cost and it took more than 10 years to get the ‘Neem’ patent revoked at EPO. TKDL has been embraced by the World Intellectual Property Organization and by the EPO and US-PTO as well as other patent offices worldwide who have found in it a powerful weapon to fight biopiracy.”

The Minister explained that Traditional Knowledge is also the basis of the livelihood of a very large population in the world, in particular, in developing countries. He added, “ The issue of Traditional knowledge protection is quite a sensitive one, since traditional knowledge is the information that people in a given community, have developed over generations, on the basis of their experience and which is adapted to local culture and environment. Many countries are struggling to protect their traditional knowledge, against wrongful exploitation, primarily in the pharmaceutical sector. This knowledge is used to sustain the community and its culture, as well as biological resources necessary for the continued survival of the community. As per World Health Organization reports, it is estimated that more than 70% of the population is dependent on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs.”

For the last several years efforts are being made by different International organizations like World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization and Convention on Biological Diversity, to evolve an implementable solution for protection of Traditional Knowledge, though it is very difficult to bring about a consensus due to diversity of interests at multilateral fora.

Shri Bansal informed, “To ensure that that no wrong patent is granted on India’s traditional knowledge, the access of TKDL database – which breaks the language barriers and converts India’s traditional knowledge of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha & Yoga, originally written in Sanskrit, Arebic, Persian and Tamil, into five international languages makes information understandable to the International Patent Examiners. Access to TKDL has been given to several international Patent Offices under a non-disclosure agreement.” Expressing deep concern about earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 12.3.2011, Shri Bansal said, “We were to sign the TKDL Access Agreement with Japan Patent Office on March 25, 2011, in New Delhi. People of Japan are passing through a difficult and trying times. We express solidarity with the brave and resilient people of Japan.”

TKDL has made waves around the world, particularly in traditional knowledge rich countries by demonstrating the advantages of proactive action and the power of strong deterrence. The idea is not to restrict the use of traditional knowledge, but to ensure that wrong patents are not granted due to lack of access to the prior art for Patent examiners. India developed this much needed tool for protection of Traditional Knowledge. This process began in the year 2000, when wrong patents granted on the wound healing properties of turmeric by US Patent Office and another on the antifungal property of Neem by the European Patent Office, came to notice and were later fought and got revoked.

Power lines connected to all six reactors at Fukushima

Japanese workers struggling to avert a nuclear disaster have succeeded in reconnecting all six reactors to power lines at the quake-hit Fukushima plant. This was disclosed by Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the plant. However, the company cautioned that a lot of work still needs to be done before electricity can actually be turned on at the plant. The workers are checking all additional equipment for damage to make sure cooling systems can be safely operated.

The critical restoration work at the plant was stalled yesterday after smoke rose from No 2 and No 3 reactors, fuelling fears of fresh radiation leaks from the area rocked by the March 11 quake of magnitude 9 and devastating tsunami.

Meanwhile, seawater pollution in the region has expanded, but the country's nuclear safety agency said there are no immediate health threats. The amount of radioactive iodine reached 80.3-fold of the standard level at the point 8 km south of the plant and 16.4-fold at the point 16 km south.

Pakistan beat Aussies

Australia’s unbeaten 34-match run in the World Cup was brought to halt by Tea Pakistan thus ascended top spot on their group table:Pakistan bowlers opened the attack with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman from one end, forced an early breakthrough when Gul bowled opener Shane Watson for nine later Umar Gul took three for 30 to help Pakistan dismiss Australia for 176 their lowest World Cup total since 1992:
Pakistan beating the defending champions by four wickets in their final match of the Group A here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.Pakistan, champions in 1992, will play the fourth placed team in Group B, while Australia (nine points) finished third behind Sri Lanka (nine points) on run-rate and will play the second placed team from Group B.

This was Australia's first defeat in the World Cup since losing to Pakistan by 10 runs in Leeds in 1999.Oz the champions, spearhead Brett Lee (4-28),fought hard and twice raised hopes of an unlikely win.

Pakistan were cruising along on 98-2 before Lee derailed the chase in his first over of his second spell, dismissing Younis Khan (31) and Misbah-ul-Haq for a first-ball duck -- both caught by keeper Brad Haddin.Mitchell Johnson removed Asad Shafiq (46) while Jason Krejza tempted skipper Shahid Afridi (two) to hole out in the deep, but Umar and Abdul Razzaq (20 not out) saw their team home with a cautious 36-run stand for the seventh wicket.

Razzaq hit two boundaries off spinner Jason Krejza to complete the victory.
Lee had taken two wickets in his first spell, taking a smart catch off his own bowling to dismiss opener Mohammad Hafeez (five) before trapping Kamran Akmal lbw for 23.

Dr. Oetker Fun Foods India

Product Launch Dr. Oetker Fun Foods India

1. Sandwich Spread Classic- Net Wt: 300g
USP: Sandwich Spread Classic makes the tastiest, creamiest and easiest sandwich. Its mild flavour enables you to be creative whether you add lettuce, cheese, ham, fish or pickles, it only adds to the taste. Making kids eat food was never this easy. Another use is to make a mixture of sandwich spread & your favourite fillings as stuffing in hollowed bread rolls.
Sandwich Spread Classic contains ingredients such as vegetable (carrots and cucumber) bits and tomato paste and other ingredients mixed with Classic Mayonnaise to make a spread which can be eaten in sandwiches & parathas alike.

2. Tartare Dip- Net Wt: 300g
USP: Tartare Dip was invented by the French but is enjoyed all over the world. This dip tastes great with cucumber & onion inside. It's made keeping in mind the vegetarian sensibilities. You can dip in it, yummy pakodas, french fries, potato chips.

Vegetarian
Zero Trans Fat
Mfd. in ISO 22000:2005 Certified Plant

3. Olive Oil Mayonnaise ( Eggless)- Net Wt: 300g

USP: A latest offering in the Indian market, the quintessential flavour of Olive Oil adds the richness to the mayo, introducing an exotic flavour to the recipes.
Vegetarian
Made With Italian Olive Oil
Zero Cholesterol
Trans Fat
Mfd. in ISO 22000:2005 Certified Plant

WHO conference "Partners for Health in South-East Asia"

Sagar Media Inc:Press Release :16 March 2011, New Delhi
nt more affordable. “The sheer challenge of reducing mortality on account of Non Communicable Diseases and enhancing quality of life of our people makes this a risk worth taking’, he elaborated . The Minister informed that a revamped and synergised ‘National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, CVD & Stroke’ is being implemented in 100 Districts across 21 States during the 11th Plan period. Eventually it will be extended over all the 640 districts in the country. For Diabetes, screening of over seventy million adult population (30 years & above) and pregnant women of all age group and children would be undertaken initially in six districts and eventually this scheme will also be extended to the entire country. This is perhaps the largest such exercise in the world, he noted. The Minister added that as policy makers we have to tackle these growing issues comprehensively and devise appropriate strategies. Shri Azad also stated that India has made impressive gains vis-a vis the Millennium Development Goals – VI. As against a projected figure of 5 million HIV/AID patients in the country, the current numbers are 2.3 million and these numbers have started showing a declining trend. We have also been able to avert more than 2 million deaths on account of TB with the scaling up of DOTS programme throughout the country. Against the MDG target of mortality reduction by 50% by 2015, we have already achieved a 68% reduction, he highlighted. Lancet has infact cited Janani Suraksha Yojana as a most promising public health initiative whereby the scheme has been able to reach out to approximately 10 million pregnant women providing safe motherhood. The Minister also called for inter sectoral coordination as he noted that health issues are now often being determined by non health indicators such as safe drinking water. The Minister also informed that nearly Rs 10,000 crores will be spent in the next 2-3 years to establish six state-of- art tertiary care institutions modelled on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the under-developed and under-served regions of the country. Likewise, over 300 million US dollars are being invested in Government medical colleges for expanding medical seats and 250 million US dollars on establishing 250 nursing schools in the country in the same underserved areas so as to increase the overall availability of health personnel in these states. There is an urgent need for drawing up short term and long term plans to meet unmet requirement of health manpower at the grassroots level, he emphasized. It is for this reason that the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has taken several path-breaking initiatives not only towards augmenting the requirements of rural health manpower, but also towards ‘capacity building’ for health professionals in the country. As a consequence of these measures, “I expect that within a short span of time an additional 10000 seats in post graduate medical courses will be created in just three years time – something that has not happened since independence”, he said. The challenge however is now to ensure that the desired quality of teaching and training is not compromised with in any manner, he cautioned. The Minister also noted that we have to work in unison to aggressively produce good quality and low cost diagnostics, vaccines and drugs. “Good quality low cost generic medicines hold the key to improved health care”, he underscored. Shri Azad urged the Partners to commit ourselves to instituting a health care system which is equitable, affordable and accessible by all sections of the society. He asked WHO’s South East Asian Regional Office to follow up this conference by prescribing monitor able milestones to make the region free of want and disease.

Launch "MTS Pulse" Smartphone

Launch "MTS Pulse" Smartphone
MTS Crosses 10 Mn Customer Launch MTS Pulse Smartphone MTS, Tuesday launched a new new MTS brand MTS Pulse from HTC in Smartphones category: Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd., “We are excited to unveil the new MTS brand, in line with MTS’ global strategy. MTS has recently been ranked as the 72nd most powerful brand in the world by Millward Brown. In keeping with our endeavor to delight our customers, we have adopted a disruptive approach to marketing that would redefine the way Smartphones are sold in India. The latest in our range of Smartphones is MTS Pulse from HTC is powered by Android 2.1, with impressive stylish and technology together with incentive scheme free calls, data usage and SMSs”identity designed the need of the hour and catching attention of today’s youth, the tag, “A Step Ahead”. This launch comes at a time when MTS has crossed the 10 million subscriber mark in India. Telecoms service provider company provides High Speed Mobile Internet services to over 5 lakh customers in the country. Adding to the celebrations, MTS has brought out for its customers the MTS Pulse from HTC– the company’s first Android powered Smartphone.Vsevolod Rozanov, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd said "Indeed a proud moment for me and the entire MTS team to have crossed the 10 million customer milestone. We had started this journey about two years ago in Tamil Nadu and have crossed this milestone in less than two years. Today, we are one of the fastest growing telecom companies in India with presence across all telecom circles. Going forward, it will be our endeavor to stay true to our data centric-voice enabled strategy to provide innovative telecom solutions to our customers.”

Buddha Temples and Heritage Sites

Development and promotion of tourism including Buddhist and the heritage sites is primarily undertaken by the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. However, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, provides Central Financial Assistance to the project proposals identified in consultation with them subject to availability of funds and inter-se-priority under various schemes of the Ministry.
Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned central financial assistance of Rs.117.39 crore for 34 Tourism Projects during 11th Plan including current financial year for Government of Uttar Pradesh. This includes Destination Development of Varanasi-Sarnath-Ramnagar, Phase-II.

Apart from this, a loan agreement has been signed with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Government of India on March 31, 2005 for Uttar Pradesh Buddhist Circuit Development project. The scope of the project covers improvement of roads, public utilities, site development and support programmes etc. at selected Buddhist sites in Uttar Pradesh.This information was given by Shri Subodh Kant Sahai, Minister for Tourism

Denmark and Latvia Support UN Burma Inquiry

Two more European countries have expressed support for international investigations into human rights abuses in Burma, following protests in London targeting six European countries. Latvia stated it supports a UN Commission of Inquiry; ‘in principle’, while Denmark stated it; ‘supports in principle the establishment of an international investigation into human rights abuses in Burma… a Commission could be a possible model for an international investigation.”

One-hundred people joined protests today at the Swedish, Latvian, Luxembourg, Norwegian and German Embassies. The protest at the Danish Embassy was cancelled following their expression of support for a Commission. The protests were led by Wai Hnin, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK, and daughter of Ko Mya Aye, whose 44th birthday is today. Burma Campaign UK today also published a briefing on how the detention and treatment of political prisoners in Burma constitutes crimes against humanity.

The Danish Ambassador Birger Riis-Jorgensen wrote to Burma Campaign UK on the eve of a planned protest at the Danish Embassy. He stated in his letter:
“Denmark supports in principle the establishment of an international investigation into human rights abuses in Burma/Myanmar. This can be an important element in a national reconciliation process. As noted in your letter, the idea of a Commission of Inquiry was first expressed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma/Myanmar, Mr Quintana, in March 2010. Such a Commission could be a possible model for an international investigation. Before steps are taken we need, however, to establish broad international support in order to make sure that an investigative commission will be able to conduct its work in the most effective way.”

A government representative from the Latvian Embassy, who met with the delegation from Burma Campaign UK, Wai Hnin, Zoya Phan and Jacqueline San, this morning, stated that the Latvian government ‘supports in principle a UN Inquiry’.

The Swedish Deputy Ambassador met with the delegation, pledged strong support for human rights and democracy in Burma, and promised a response on Sweden’s position on a UN Inquiry soon. The Luxembourg and Norwegian Embassies also promised a response at a later date.

The generally polite and warm reception at these Embassies was in stark contrast to the reception at the German Embassy. The German Embassy at first refused to allow the delegation of three into the Embassy to deliver the letter, only backing down when the delegation pointed out all the other Embassies had been happy to have three people in the meeting. However, a German Embassy Security Officer stayed in the room while the meeting took place. The Embassy also told protesters outside to move across the road. When they refused, as the German Embassy does not have the right to tell people where they can stand in a public street, the German Embassy called the police. The police declined to tell the protesters to move. The German government representative refused to express support for a UN Inquiry, and told the delegation to go and protest at the French, American and Chinese Embassies instead.

“Today we made sure European governments could not ignore the situation of political prisoners in Burma, which is a crime against humanity”, said Wai Hnin. “I am very pleased that two more European countries are supporting a Commission into crimes against humanity in Burma. The European Union must now officially support a UN Commission of Inquiry.”

Morocco to vote for new constitution

Morocco's King Mohammed VI announced a "comprehensive constitutional reform" to be put to the people in a referendum, in his first speech following uprisings across the Arab world.Less than a month after protests erupted in Morocco demanding more social justice and limits on his powers, the king pledged to draw up a new draft constitution by June."We have decided to undertake a comprehensive constitutional reform," King Mohammed said Wednesday, underlining his "firm commitment to giving a strong impetus to the dynamic and deep reforms... taking place."

The monarch announced the formation of a commission to work on the constitutional revisions, with proposals to be made to him by June. A referendum would be held on the draft constitution, he added.The live broadcast was the first time the king has delivered an address to the nation since thousands of people demonstrated in several cities on 20th February demanding political reform and limits on his powers.They were the first protests in the country since the start of the uprisings across the Arab world that toppled the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt this year.There have been other peaceful rallies since then, including in the capital Rabat and the country's biggest city Casablanca, with young activists campaigning for greater democracy using the Facebook social network to call for new demonstrations on 20th March.Six people were killed in unrest that erupted after the 20th February demonstrations, including five found burned to death in a bank set ablaze by people whom officials labelled vandals.Another 128, including 115 members of the security forces, were wounded in the violence and 120 people were arrested, the interior ministry said. Dozens of vehicles and buildings were also damaged or set alight.Media Agencies

Postal services to be more people friendly: Sibal

Union minister for communications and information technology Kapil Sibal today said the government is committed to make the postal services more people friendly. Inaugurating an e-post office in New Delhi, Mr. Sibal said the e-post office is an ambitious project of India post. E-post office is the e-commerce portal of India Post. The portal will enable the customers to transact postal business any time and from anywhere using either debit card or credit card through the medium of internet.

Mr. Sibal said it would enable its customers to carry out postal transactions through the internet, from customers homes or offices. One of the focus areas of the first phase of e-post office is on the money order service.

AIR correspondent reports the first phase of the e-post office launched will now offer electronic money order, instant money order, sale of philatelic stamps and tracking of express and international shipments. India post has collaborated with agencies in the public and private sector to make the e-post office a reality.

EU Calls Burma For Reform

EU asked four key demands to the Burma rulers Summarized, for genuine dialogue, credible free and fair elections, more engagement with the international community to work towards a peaceful transition to democracy, and to end violations of international law. Are these demands were met, and in some instances the situation actually got worse.Official position is that the EU will; ‘revise, amend or reinforce the measures it has already adopted in light of developments on the ground.’

“Given that human rights abuses and violations of international law have increased, rather than decreased, and that the dictatorship is trying to consolidate, not end its rule, if the EU were to follow its own policy it would be discussing increasing, not decreasing, the sanctions,’ said Zoya Phan, Campaigns Manager at Burma Campaign UK.

The briefing paper also calls on the European Union to engage with the NLD on how sanctions can be modified, as requested in its sanctions policy review. The paper argues that by setting clear benchmarks which must be met before sanctions are lifted, it will not only make better use of those sanctions as a tool for promoting change, but also help end some of the divisions over sanctions within the EU, enabling a focus on other important areas.

Briefing paper calls on the European Union to announce its support for a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. The failure of the EU to support such an Inquiry contributes to the dictatorship having a sense of impunity, which in turn encourages it to continue its abuses.

“Without genuine progress and change in Burma there is no justification for the EU weakening its current sanctions on Burma”, said Zoya Phan. “We want sanctions to be smart and well-targeted, but the EU must engage with the NLD on how any sanctions should be changed, and setting clear benchmarks, such as the release of all political prisoners.
European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma calls on the European Union to announce support for a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity. The establishment of such an inquiry must be included in the draft UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma for 2011.
Members of the European Burma Network (EBN) met in Prague, Czech Republic, on 12th and 13th February, 2011. The European Burma Network brings together organisations promoting human rights and democracy in Burma, and works in solidarity with Burma’s democracy movement.Members of the EBN remain deeply concerned about the lack of any improvement in the situation of human rights in Burma, and the lack of any progress towards genuine democratisation.Elections held in Burma in November 2010 had no credibility. They did not meet any internationally accepted standards of being free and fair.
Media Agencies

Kiran Walia Delhi Health Min- On International Women day Celebrations

Prof Iftikhar Mohd Chishti -Delhi 2050

A civil war in Libya 74 killed

Libya Saturday plunged into a civil war with see-saw battles going on between Muammar Gaddafi loyalists and rebels for territorial gains, leaving 74 dead in one of the bloodiest day of fighting as the country's opposition held its first conclave apparently to form a parallel government.The efforts to form a self-declared national-council comes as US and western countries as well as world bodies have virtually derecognised the Gaddafi regime and interpol has issued warrants against him and his family for genocide.

Rebels says that they have formed local councils in cities they control in the eastern region with an aim to lead the nation into election, local media reports said.As ding-dong heavy battles and explosions continue across the country, the US and NATO forces warships and fighters were positioned of the strife torn country's coast.

US President Barack Obama has said that the primary mission of the task force is to undertake humanitarian evacuation, "but all options were on the table."While Gaddafi's forces using tanks and heavy artillery tried to retake towns in the country's oil-rich east, where the rebellion has left them without space, the rebels beat back attacks on the key town of al-Zawiyah, close to the capital Tripoli and overran oil town of Ras Lanuf.

At least 10 people have been killed and 20 injured in Ras Lanuf, where Libyan rebels are locked in intense fighting with the forces loyal to 68-year-old-Gaddafi.
Media reports said rebels were witnessed manning the oil-compounds, police stations and army-barracks in the oil-rich town.More than 20 people were injured in Ajdabiya where fresh fightings between the rebels and Gaddafi forces have erupted.In another development, explosions at a military arms depot outside the rebel-held city of Benghazi, which took place minutes apart, left at least 34 people dead and dozens injured, reports reaching here said.

Residence living upto 10 kms from the main weapons depot said windows shook and an inferno lit up the sky. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but rebels said it could have been caused by air-raids or enemy agents.

Eyewitnesses quoted by al-Jazeera said that Gaddafi's forces in their desperate bid to widen the security belt around Tripoli made three advances to capture al-Zawiyah, even training tanks on residential buildings.Conflicting reports were coming in about the battle, with the town reported changing hands twice.
BBC said more than 30 people were killed when 15 tanks and lorry loads of Gaddafi loyalists swarmed into the town, getting into street fighting with the rebels.

"They came from the east and west and occupied high rise buildings," BBC quoted a rebel fighter as saying, who claimed that Gaddafi's forces have been repelled.
"There tanks almost reached the city-square before they were bombed off," the fighter said.The rebellion in al Zawiyah - the closest rebel-held territory to Gaddafi's bastion of Tripoli and also the site of an oil refinery - has been an embarrassment to the Libyan authorities who are trying hard to demonstrate that they control at least the west of the country.


Eastern regions of the country, around the city of Benghazi, have already fallen out of Gaddafi's control after a popular revolt against his 41-year rule which began in mid-February. Amid the heavy fighting the Libyan opposition announced that it held its first formal meeting at a secret location apparently to announce a parallel government.Gaddafi's warplanes had earlier attacked military bases overrun by rebels, though they had missed their targets.


Earlier Friday, clashes briefly erupted after the Friday prayers in the capital Tripoli.Braving the large presence of gun-totting security personnel and mercenaries, over 1,000 protesters hit the streets in large numbers after the Friday prayers, demanding ouster of the Libyan ruler and chanting slogans like "Gaddafi is the enemy of God", witnesses said.They were tear-gassed and fired upon by the forces loyal to Gaddafi.Media reports said the protesters tore down posters of the Libyan leader and spray-painted walls with graffiti such as: "Down with Gaddafi" and "Tajoura will dig your grave."

For the first time since the uprising began on February 15, Interpol issued an Orange Notice against Gaddafi and 15 other Libyans, including members of his family and close associates. The Interpol alert is aimed at ensuring that law enforcement agencies in each of the world police bodies in 188-member countries take all necessary measures to enforce travel ban against the Libyan leader and others.

Fierce fighting was also reported outside Ras Lanuf town, with the sound of multiple explosions and heavy artillery being heard after opposition fighters advanced on the city, BBC said. Pro-Gaddafi forces withdrew to Ras Lanuf two days ago after a battle.

Rebels at Ras Lanuf later told the media they had taken complete control of the town, but there was no independent confirmation.There were also conflicting reports about the situation in Brega. Some government sources were quoted as saying that the town was in rebel hands, while others insisted it was not.

Earlier Friday, Libyan forces carried out an air strike near a military base on the western outskirts of Ajdabiya, a town that fell in the hands of the anti-Gaddafi rebels. However, media reports said there were no casualties or damage.In Caracas, Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said that Libya has given go-ahead to his country to form a mission to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis in the North African country, a day after the US and France rejected the Venezuelan mediation offer.Meanwhile, the United States dispatched its two military aircraft under a code-name 'Operation Odyssey Dawn' -- to Tunisia border last evening with relief supplies for thousands of foreigners fleeing Libya.

A day after US President Barack Obama made the announcement, the State Department and Pentagon said two C-130 military transports have landed in Djerba, Tunisia, delivering humanitarian supplies from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).The Pentagon, which has sent considerable air and naval assets to the region along with 400 marines, said it is closely monitoring the situation in Libya."We have seen very clearly broadcast reports showing effects of air power being used. Whether or not those were used on rebels, I can't say but ... there is evidence they have used air assets and dropped ordnance," Pentagon spokesman, Col Dave Lapan, told reporters in Washington.Over one lakh people have fled Libya, where the violence in the uprising against Gaddafi has killed at least 1,000, according to UN estimates.Media agencies

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