'Women Only' buses to make commuting safer

MUMBAI: A series of transport reforms is on the anvil to prevent crimes against women.

The central government on Monday recommended that 'Women Only' buses should be pressed into service.

It also proposed to encourage more women to drive buses and taxis all over the country.

A common grouse cited by traffic police personnel nationwide is that vehicles often have factory-fitted glasses where the tint is darker than the permissible limit.

The secretary in the ministry of road transport will consult with technical experts and police representatives to examine what should be the maximum permissible level of tint in windows of public transport buses.

The ministry of home affairs will develop a time-bound protocol to verify the antecedents of crew manning public transport vehicles.

It will also advise state governments to undertake similar verification checks.

The particulars of the bus owner, the driver and the details of permit and license will be required to be prominently displayed both inside and outside the buses.

The detail will have to be placed where it is prominently visible in an easily readable font.

The ministry of road transport & highways will make it mandatory to install GPS devices in all public transport vehicles.

A control room will have to be set up to monitor the movement of buses. The ministry will soon issue an advisory to all states to comply.

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King Richard III Bones Found, Scientists Say

The search for the long-vilified English King Richard III, who died in battle in 1485 and whose image as a nasty tyrant was immortalized by William Shakespeare, appears to have ended.

In a dramatic Monday morning press conference, researchers from England's University of Leicester announced they had identified "beyond all reasonable doubt" Richard III's skeletal remains. The remains had been unearthed last August by an archaeological team from beneath a parking lot where the friary that reportedly held Richard III's body once stood.

For nearly 40 minutes on Monday, a team of scientists and historians reported the results of detailed medical, historical, genealogical, and genetic studies conducted after archaeologists discovered a skeleton that they believed to be Richard III. (Related: "Shakespeare's Coined Words Now Common Currency.")

Turi King, a geneticist at the University of Leicester, and Kevin Schürer, a genealogist at the school, turned up the most compelling evidence. By poring over historical records and documents, Schürer conclusively identified two of Richard III's living descendants: Michael Ibsen, a furniture maker in London, England, and a second individual who now wishes to remain anonymous.

King took DNA samples from the two descendants and compared them to a sample of ancient DNA obtained from the skeleton from the friary. "There is a DNA match," King told reporters, "so the DNA evidence points to these being the remains of Richard III."

Richard III died at age 32 of injuries he sustained at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, and the new evidence fits closely with these records.

University of Leicester osteologist Jo Appleby showed two gruesome head injuries that Richard received in his last moments—one likely inflicted from behind by an assailant bearing a halberd, a medieval weapon consisting of an axe blade topped with a spike. In addition, Appleby found several other wounds that she described as "humiliation injuries," likely inflicted on Richard's dead body.

Historical accounts suggest that Richard's enemies stripped his body after the battle and threw his corpse over a horse "and this," says Appeleby, "would have left his body exposed to [humiliation] injuries."

The osteologist's studies also revealed that Richard was a man of slight build who suffered from a medical condition known as idiopathic adolescent scolosis, a curvature of the spine that developed after ten years of age and that may have brought back pain to the future king.

This emerging scientific picture of Richard fits with a description of the king written by John Rous, a medieval English historian, in the late 15th century. According to Rous, Richard III "was slight in body and weak in strength."

The King's enduring image as a cruel despot was cemented by Shakespeare, who portrayed him as a glowering monster so repugnant "that dogs bark at me as I halt by them."

In Shakespeare's famous play, the hunchbacked king claws his way to the throne and methodically murders most of his immediate family—his wife, older brother, and two young nephews—until he suffers defeat and death on the battlefield at the hands of a young Tudor hero, Henry VII.

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Etch A Sketch creator dies

PARIS: Andre Cassagnes, the French inventor of the Etch A Sketch, a toy beloved of children around the world, has died at the age of 86.

His death in France in mid-January was announced by the Ohio Art Company which has been making the Etch a Sketch since 1960, according to media reports.

The Etch A Sketch, a grey screen with bold red frame, allows children to draw a picture using a stylus and then erase it with the turn of two buttons.

It has sold more than 100 million copies around the world.

- AFP/ck

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No noble family will allow girls to become dancers: Hurriyat

SRINAGAR: Hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference today expressed surprise over Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah's support for the valley's only all-girls rock band, saying there is no room to nourish western culture and immoral values in the state.

"Kashmir is a place of sufis and saints and there is no room to nourish western type of culture and immoral values," Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said in a statement.

"Though in a civilised society there is no place for coercion and force, there are some values a citizen has to adopt to safeguard the ethical and religious traditions," he said.

"Hurriyat Conference expresses regret and surprise over the support of Omar Abdullah," Akbar said.

"As a matter of fact no noble family will allow their girls to choose their profession as a dancer so as to be a mere thing of pleasure for strangers," he said.

Akbar said Omar should have gone through the history of Kashmir to find out the high regard and esteem bestowed upon women in order to save them from being sold as commodity.

"It is a matter of concern for us the way Omar Abdullah backed the rock band because the dynasty he belongs to has since long disassociated itself from Islamic and ethical values," he said.

Referring to the reported threats being given to the rock band, the spokesman termed it "not good".

"Instead, parents should have rectified the things and provided advice to their daughters that their activities were not as per ethics of Islam, culture and our unique identity," he said.

Omar had come out in support of the girls yesterday saying police will probe the threats.

"I hope these talented young girls will not let a handful of morons silence them," he said.

The all-girls band, which came to limelight in late December last year after their performance at the annual 'Battle of the Bands' competition here, had defied the convention by stepping into the male-dominated field of music.

The girls' band has received abusive and hate messages on their Facebook page for defying convention by choosing the field of music.

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Pictures We Love: Best of January

Photograph by Dieu Nalio Chery, AP

The magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 so devastated the country that recovery efforts are still ongoing.

Professional dancer Georges Exantus, one of the many casualties of that day, was trapped in his flattened apartment for three days, according to news reports. After friends dug him out, doctors amputated his right leg below the knee. With the help of a prosthetic leg, Exantus is able to dance again. (Read about his comeback.)

Why We Love It

"This is an intimate photo, taken in the subject's most personal space as he lies asleep and vulnerable, perhaps unaware of the photographer. The dancer's prosthetic leg lies in the foreground as an unavoidable reminder of the hardships he faced in the 2010 earthquake. This image makes me want to hear more of Georges' story."—Ben Fitch, associate photo editor

"This image uses aesthetics and the beauty of suggestion to tell a story. We are not given all the details in the image, but it is enough to make us question and wonder."—Janna Dotschkal, associate photo editor

Published February 1, 2013

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Former SEAL Killed at Gun Range; Suspect Arrested

A man is under arrest in connection with the killing of a former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and another man at an Erath County, Texas, gun range, police said.

"We have lost more than we can replace. Chris was a patriot, a great father, and a true supporter of this country and its ideals. This is a tragedy for all of us. I send my deepest prayers and thoughts to his wife and two children," "American Sniper" co-author Scott McEwen said in a statement to ABC News.

ABC affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas reported that Kyle and a neighbor of his were shot while helping a soldier who is recovering from post traumatic stress syndrome at a gun range in Glen Rose.

The suspect, identified as Eddie Routh, 25, was arrested in Lancaster, Texas, after a brief police chase, a Lancaster Police Department dispatcher told ABC News.

Routh was driving Kyle's truck at the time of his arrest and was held awaiting transfer to Texas Rangers, according to police.

Investigators told WFAA that Routh is a former Marine said to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley

The other man who was killed with Kyle was identified as 35-year-old Chad Littlefield by authorities.

PHOTOS: Notable Deaths in 2013

Kyle, 38, served four tours in Iraq and was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation.

From 1999 to 2009, Kyle recorded more than 150 sniper kills, the most in U.S. military history.

Travis Cox, the director of FITCO Cares, the non-profit foundation Kyle established, said Kyle's wife Taya and their children "lost a dedicated father and husband" and the country has lost a "lifelong patriot and an American hero."

"Chris Kyle was a hero for his courageous efforts protecting our country as a U.S. Navy SEAL during four tours of combat. Moreover, he was a hero for his efforts stateside when he helped develop the FITCO Cares Foundation. What began as a plea for help from Chris looking for in-home fitness equipment for his brothers- and sisters-in-arms struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) became an organization that will carry that torch proudly in his honor," Cox said in a statement.

After leaving combat duty, became chief instructor training Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter-Sniper teams, and he authored the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Doctrine, the first Navy SEAL sniper manual. He left the Navy in 2009.

"American Sniper," which was published last year in 2012, became a New York Times best seller.

The fatal shooting comes after week filled with gun related incidents -- a teen who participated in inaugural festivities was shot to death in Chicago, a bus driver was fatally shot and 5-year-old was taken hostage in Alabama and a Texas prosecutor was gunned outside a courthouse.

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Black delegate decides against Va. GOP map

RICHMOND — After a brief flirtation with the GOP’s surprise Virginia Senate redistricting plan, and a fierce backlash from unions, a black House Democrat has soured on supporting it.

Del. Onzlee Ware announced on the House floor Friday that he has decided to vote against the new Senate map, which would create a new majority-black district in Southside but also disperse black voting power in at least eight other districts.

He had said in an interview Wednesday that he was considering voting for it. His support would have provided Republicans with a measure of bipartisan support and helped to blunt criticism that they had pushed the proposed districts through the Senate in a way that was offensive to blacks.

The map would probably lead to the election of a sixth black senator but also diminish Democratic power in the now evenly divided Senate. Ware had said on Wednesday that he was open to the proposal because he was tired of putting the interests of black people second to the interests of the Democratic party.

But he announced Friday that he had decided to vote against the map, which Republicans sprang on the Senate on Inauguration Day, when Sen. Henry Marsh of Richmond — a Democrat regarded as a civil rights icon — was away in Washington to attend President Obama’s swearing-in. Ware said he’d concluded that the map, tacked onto a bill calling for minor “technical adjustments” to House districts, was too much of a departure from the original legislation.

“It was just too drastically changed,” Ware said.

Democratic legislators and union leaders pounced after Ware and another black Democratic delegate, Rosalyn R. Dance of Petersburg, said in interviews with The Washington Post that they were open to the map.

At the request of the Senate Democratic caucus, union members pushed the two hard, on the phone and in person, according to union officials and Capitol staffers.

“The whole Senate Democratic caucus was rightfully concerned that [their] vote was going to give Republicans cover and fix the optics,” said one union official involved in the effort but not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Dance, who lives in the newly created Senate district, did not address the matter on the House floor and could not be reached for comment.

But another union member, Julia Newton of Service Employees International Union Virginia 512, said Dance told her she has decided to abstain from voting on the measure. The plan could come up for a vote in the House as early as Wednesday.

“She said she wasn’t going to vote at all,” Newton said.

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Cycling: Blanco suspend Sanchez over doping allegations

THE HAGUE: Blanco - formerly the Rabobank team - said on Saturday they have suspended Spanish rider Luis Leon Sanchez provisionally amid accusations he was linked to Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in the Operation Puerto blood doping racket.

The Dutch team said it is investigating and would in the meantime not select Sanchez.

"The object of this investigation is to verify or refute revelations which appeared in the Dutch press on the subject of the role of our rider in the Fuentes affair," Blanco said in a statement.

Spanish police believe Sanchez was a client of the doctor in 2006 while riding for the Liberty Seguros team - something the 29-year-old denies.

Sanchez has won several major titles, including the San Sebastian Classic in 2010 and 2012, the 2009 Paris-Nice, the Tour Down Under in 2005 and four stages of the Tour de France.

Last Wednesday, a Spanish judge refused to demand that Fuentes, the suspected mastermind of one of the sporting world's biggest blood doping rackets, provide the names of athletes implicated in the scandal.

The ruling in the so-called "Operation Puerto" case could avert a huge fall-out from the high-profile trial, with suspects across the drug-tarnished world of cycling and perhaps in other sports potentially at risk.

The Canary Islands doctor, 57, was detained when police seized 200 bags of blood and plasma, and other evidence of performance-enhancing transfusions, revealing a huge doping network after a months-long investigation dubbed "Operation Puerto".

Fuentes on Tuesday said his activities had stretched beyond cycling, which is still reeling from the aftermath of revelations that Lance Armstrong cheated his way to a record seven Tour de France wins.

"I worked with individual sportspeople, privately. It could be a cyclist in a cycling team, a footballer in a football team, an athlete, a boxer," he told the court.

- AFP/de

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Army chief to visit Japan to bolster military ties

NEW DELHI: With India and Japan in the process of further cranking up their military ties across the entire spectrum, Army chief General Bikram Singh will be heading for Tokyo on a four-day visit later this month.

"The strategic-military partnership with Japan is evolving to a new level. General Singh, who will leave on February 11, will meet the Japanese defence minister, military chiefs and others to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral ties. He will also visit some defence establishments," said an official.

The visit comes soon after India and Japan, both wary of the increasingly assertive behaviour of China and the rapid modernisation of its People's Liberation Army, held their first-ever maritime dialogue on January 29.

Ranging from joint combat exercises and coordinated anti-piracy patrols to counter-terrorism and service-to-service exchanges, India and Japan are implementing a "action plan to advance security cooperation".

The plan, which dwells upon strategic and defence cooperation as well as coordination in tackling terrorism, piracy and proliferation, is meant to reinforce the strategic focus in the "global partnership" between India and Japan, say officials.

"India and Japan have similar views on several global and regional issues like extremism, terrorism and WMD-proliferation. The two are also keen to ensure the safety of sea lanes in the Indian Ocean Region and Asia-Pacific because both depend largely on maritime traffic for their energy and trade needs," said an official.

"In addition to regular exercises being held between the Indian and Japanese coast guards, our naval warships are also conducting coordinated anti-piracy patrolling in the Gulf of Aden. We also have regular Navy-to-Navy staff talks," he added.

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