Author Archives: Gunjan Priya

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Snowfall, storm spoil holiday plans in California

snow covered California

Many flights were cancelled in Southern California due to snowstorm on Sunday December 26.

A heavy cover of snow could be seen all over buses, trains and buildings, that has disturbed commuting through out California. The after-Christmas sales have been badly hampered due to such a bad weather.

New York and Boston have been covered with around one foot thick snow layer. Experts predicted up to 20 inches of snowfall for Philadelphia.

Flights have been cancelled throughout Northeast and also in Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and the Carolinas. New York City alone has witnessed cancellation of 1400flights of different airlines.

Blizzard caused a heavy loss to travel industry by leading to cancellation of travel plans. The United States has been experiencing bad weather conditions in many of states for many weeks. Thousands of travelers have been affected so far and even daily commuting to local destinations is difficult for people.

An official from Los Angeles airport reported that fights of Delta airline heading toward Kennedy were cancelled while American Airlines stopped all 15 flights for Boston, New York, and Washington. Weather forecasters have issued a warning for the Northeast and New York for another snowstorm and a further reduction in visibility respectively.

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Official says air security improved in US following terrorist attacks

Janet Napolitano, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary stated that security situations have become much safer in US aviation. He said this while talking on one year anniversary of foiled airplane bombing.

An extremist Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had attacked on a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines plane. He had tried to blow up the airplane in 2009 on the festive occasion of Christmas.

Napolitano further explained that now the US aviation authorities are more equipped with detective machines to identify even plastic explosives and they can scrutinize passengers before entering the bordering entrance. However, he said that there is still a lot more to be done.

Napolitano Mentioned about the 2005 suicide bomb attacks which killed 52 people in London subway trains.

The official revealed that New York City has installed 586 cameras for vigilance last month in Grand Central Terminal, Times Square, and Pennsylvania Station.

He also mentioned about the additional security measures adopted to ensure safety in soft targets for the terrorists such as shopping malls and hotels. Former national intelligence director, Michael McConnell had stated that US computer system can also be major target for the terrorists as the entire administration and life of the United States depends upon computers. An attack on technological links can completely bring life in US to halt.

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US releases 2010 Census results

US releases its population statistics. According to the United States Census Bureau,  population of the United States was 308745538 on April 1. The US population has increased by 9.7 percent in a decade. However, this is the lowest registered growth of population for the country since 1930. The decelerating growth has occurred due to a sharp fall in birth rates and also due to less influx of immigrants to the United States following recent economic depression.

Texas with an increase of 4 million people accounts for largest population among all the states of in the United States, whereas Nevada registered highest growth rate –with 35 percent increase in a decade. Southern and western states showed a trend of largest growth in population and so did the states starting from Northeast and Midwest to South and West respectively.

The trend has been similar in last 40 years. The states with largest number of people have more congressional seats in comparison to states with lower population. California with highest population, therefore stands first in the Congress with 53 seats whereas Wyoming having least population occupies only one seat.

Following the Census results, there will be a significant change in the configuration of US Congress. There are 18 states likely to lose or gain seats in the House. Texas has an advantage of 4 seats while Ohio and New York will be losing 2 seats each in the Congress due to reduced population.

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Hamas threaten to respond sternly against Israeli aggression

There is tremendous increase in tension between Palestine and Israel. Israeli military have found Palestinians trying to plot a bomb on the Gaza border.

Palestinians claimed that two of their members were killed due to gunfire opened by the soldiers and through helicopters.

This is the first clash between the two sides in last two years since Gaza War Israel has started attacking Palestinians by helicopters in response to which the later fired rockets on border after which both groups remained calm.

This has led to issuing of an ultimatum to Hamas ruling Gaza trip by the Israel’s deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom in the weekly cabinet meeting.

Shalom also warned that is unlikely to be content with pre ceasefire conditions if Palestinian rockets continued their attacks on border and would respond sternly.

Israeli cabinet Minister Yuval Steinitz stated that the country had no choice but to attack against Hamas as they are forcing to do it.

Hamas are ruling in the Gaza strip and do not recognize Israel as a nation. They continuously threaten Israel and attack it whenever get a chance for that.

In reaction to Israel’s warning the Palestinian spokesperson Abu Obeida said that Israel would face a ‘painful’ military response for it any aggression it initiates.

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Obama to return from Hawaii vacation on January 2

US President Barack Obama reached Hawaii for celebrating Christmas with his family. While staying at Kailua Bay, the first family made a surprise visit to Marines on Saturday.

Obama had spent Christmas vacation on the same base in 2008 and 2009. The president’s family is staying in a rented vacation home in Hawaii which is also Obama’s home state.  The first family took many group photographs with locals and shook hands with them. Hundreds of local Marines and their families enjoyed dining with the first family on Christmas. Each dinner hall accommodated around 300 people there.

The president and his family also chatted with locals and presented Christmas gifts to them. Children were very keen to talk with Obama. The dinner included a variety of special dishes including prime rib, turkey, potatoes, pie and vegetables. Desserts were also served in the dinner.

The family delayed its vacation trip to Hawaii due to lame-duck session. A lame duck session is a session of US Congress held every time a successive candidate is elected in elections.

At present, any meeting organized by the Congress after poll day but before January 3 is called as a lame duck session.

The first family will stay on vacation till January 2 and then return back to Washington.

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Bomb Blast Kills 42 at food distribution center in Pakistan

Aftermath of suicide bomb attack in Pakistan

Clad in a veil and burqa, a suicide bomber attacked a food distribution center in Pakistan causing 42 deaths and injuring many others. The bomber attacked Khar town of Bajaur tribal area while there is a continuous fight among security forces and extremists at Afghanistan border. There was a clash also in Mohnad tribal region and more than 20 militant were killed.

The food distribution center was crowded with more than 1000 people gathered for receiving food aid. The attacker threw hand-grenades on people and then detonated explosives attached in his or her body. The identity of suicide bomber is yet unknown and it is not clear whether it was a woman or man.

There was a terrible chaotic scene visible after the explosion with bodies mangles and scattered everywhere. More than 60 people have been severely injured and hospitalized in the Peshawar hospital. The food distribution center shelters refugees coming from Afghanistan who have fled their homes or have been forcibly evacuated by the military forces.  The number of refugees has reached 300,000 due to military actions against militants since 2008.

NATO’s International Security officials revealed that they had killiedtwo militants on Friday clashes in Khowst and Logar provinces. Both Taliban and the Haqqani militants use Pakistan as a safe heaven for attacking Western troops in Afghanistan.

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US, South Korea military drills ‘intentional’ provocation: North Korea

Tension between N Korea and S Korea is increasing

North Korea has blamed the United States and South Korea for setting the peninsula region on a path to a nuclear war by launching military drills. The South Korean administration has stated that the North Korea is all set to go for another nuclear test next year.

In a report published in a major North Korean daily stated that the military drill on Yeonpyeong Island near the disputed marine border was an act of intentional provocation and Pyongyang had been closely watching the irresponsible activities of warmongers inviting an atomic war. The report further said that if North Korea is forced into a war then it has every right to protect itself using best possible means. Pyongyang could go for another nuclear test sometime next year as it needs to refine plutonium bomb, South Korea’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security said in a report published on its website.

North Korea has shown apprehensions regarding the military drills by South Korea and the US and said these kinds of activities are indicating toward a full-fledged invasion.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan Jin said that retaliation of any kind to further attack by the North Korea would include aerial attacks.

Korean Peninsula has been witnessing serious tensions since Pyongyang fired missiles on Yeonpyeong Island in November, leaving two soldiers and two civilians dead. Thereafter, South Korea conducted first live-firing drills on December 20 on the island.

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US Environmental Protection Agency to endorse Greenhouse Gas Regulation

Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to go ahead with issuing rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions coming out of power plants and oil refineries despite strong opposition from the Congress.

The E.P.A recognizes that power plants and oil refineries are the top emitters of green house gases that pose health hazards. It plans to begin the regulation of emissions under the Clean Air Act. Coal powered power plants are already under fire for realsing many other pollutants such as: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and mercury. But this fresh order of reducing carbon dioxide could result in shutting down of many old coal powered plants.

The agency, however, is not clear how strictly it plans to enforce the rules and what results would they yield. Gina McCarthy, the assistant administrator for air and radiation, just says that the rules will be “cost-effective”.

This lack of clarity gives the power industry the weapon to question the rule on grounds of cost effectiveness. New power plants are required to put in more power supply in line.

But the E.P.A is under pressure from environment watch groups to act in this direction. They are bound to go ahead with the regulation, which they insist is not a cap-and-trade system.

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Ivorian President Gbago insists on remaining in power despite human right abuse

Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo

Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo continues to remain in power despite the cries of human rights abuses in Ivory Coast arising out of political uncertainty.

The U.N. deputy high commissioner for human rights, Kyung-wha Kang, has declared that human rights officers, “have substantiated allegations of 173 killings, 90 instances of torture and ill treatment, 471 arrests and detentions and 24 cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances,” between the last Thursday and Tuesday.

She has also alleged that the special representative of the Secretary-General has been stopped at gun point while investigating the human rights abuse cases.

Violence erupted after the November 28th Presidential elections. The ruling President believes that he won the elections, while the Election Commission picked opposition leader Alassane Ouattara as the winner. President Gbago derives strength from the ruling of the Constitutional Council that over ruled the Election Commission ruling.

Gbago claims that Ouattara and his followers are no longer a peaceful opposition and they have attacked soldiers’ with weapons. Charles Ble Goude, the nation’s youth minister under Gbagbo acknowledges that the situation is “very very difficult to live in”. But he condemns the U.N report as it only points out to the ruling government.

However, Kang accuses the ruling government responsible for “illegal detentions, nightly arrests and disappearances.”

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Obama pleased over breaking gridlock with Republicans

Washington – President Barack Obama refused to sit on the laurels of the recent victory as the lame-duck session of Congress drew to an end Wednesday. He termed the victories in the recent weeks as the victory of the American people and not his own. He was happy that things were done in the Congress and that it is not doomed for countless gridlocks.

Obama was pleased that after the mid term elections, contrary to popular expectations, the Republicans and the Democrats joined hands on issues rather stalling political processes with gridlocks.

Republicans and Democrats have to work jointly now. After the 2008 elections the Democrats had a 15 seats advantage in the Senate. In the House of Representative they had a 78 seat advantage. But now, after the mid term elections, the Republicans have majority in the House and their numbers have gone up in the Senate to 47.

The Democrats will need the support of the Republicans on two major issues at least. The intention of reducing Federal spending and the issue of education reform that contains the controversial move of performance based teacher’s salary. The topic of rewarding school districts following the No Child Left Behind Law is expected to find more Republican support.

The President’s press conference this time was a much jovial one than the one he had addresses seven weeks ago.