Dadasaheb Falke Awards

105 dead in Tripoli airport plane crash: security official

TRIPOLI: An eight-year-old Dutch boy was the sole survivor when a Libyan plane arriving from South Africa exploded on landing at Tripoli airport on Wednesday, killing more than 100 people, officials said.

Afriqiyah Airways listed 93 passengers and 11 crew members on board its flight 8U771 from Johannesburg.

"I can confirm the crash but not the number of the dead," said Bongani Sithole, an official of the airline at Johannesburg airport. "We hear that it happened one metre (yard) away from the runway."

A Libyan security official earlier said that all those on board the Airbus A330 had died but an airport official said in fact a Dutch boy had survived and been rushed to hospital near Tripoli.

There was no immediate indication of the cause of the crash, which occurred as the Afriqiyah Airways plane was landing after a flight from Johannesburg at around 6 am (0400 GMT).

"It exploded on landing and totally disintegrated," the security official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The crew members were all Libyan nationals, the official added.

An AFP correspondent said the crash site had been sealed off by security officials and ambulances and emergency vehicles were seen rushing between the airport and the capital, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) apart.

The wreckage could be seen in the distance but no plumes of smoke were evident. Weather conditions were good at Tripoli on Wednesday morning, with only light clouds in the sky.

Afriqiyah Airways said on its website that it operates an Airbus fleet.

It started operations with five leased planes and signed a contract with Airbus at an exhibition in Paris in 2007 for the purchase of 11 new planes, the website said.

It was founded in April 2001 and at first fully owned by the Libyan state. The company's capital was later divided into shares to be managed by the Libya-Africa Investment Portfolio.

On April 21, the airline announced that flights were back to normal after disruptions due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland that grounded flights in Europe last month.

Last June, a 12-year-old girl was the sole survivor of a Yemeni plane crash off the Comoros.

3 given death, 20 life imprisonment for killing 21 Dalits in 1996

ARA: A Bihar court today sentenced three persons to death and 20 others to life imprisonment in connection with the kiling of 21 Dalits at Bathani Tola in Bhojpur district in 1996.

Additional District and Sessions Judge A K Srivastava announced the quantum of punishment today.

On May 5 the court had found the accused guilty of killing the dalits at Bathani Tola under Sahar block of Bhojpur district on July 11, 1996. The accused were suspected activists of Ranvir Sena, a private militia of land owners.

The court had earlier acquitted 30 others named in the case for want of sufficient evidence.

Around 70 Sena men had raided the village and killed 21 dalits, mostly women and children.

SC allows Reddy brothers to resume mining

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today allowed Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), belonging to the Reddy brothers, to resume mining in the undisputed region of the Bellary reserve forest in Karnataka.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan allowed OMC to start mining operations within 150 meters of the Karnataka border.

The apex court, however, clarified that mining by OMC should be carried out only in the undisputed area of the lease granted by the Karnataka government and would have to be stopped if the Survey of India says so.

The apex court had on March 22 banned mining of iron ores by OMC and appointed a committee comprising officials of the Survey of India, the forest, irrigation and revenue departments of Andhra Pradesh, besides representatives of the Reddy brothers to look into allegations of illegal mining and violation of leased areas.

In its ruling today, the court also directed Karnataka to appoint officials from forest and mining departments to assist the committee in demarcating the boundary between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The court has asked the committee to complete the final survey within two months.

The Reddy brothers, who own mining leases for over 136 hectares of land spread in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district, are accused of encroaching on reserve forest lands.

PM pulls up Ramesh for his critical comment on MHA

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today pulled up Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for his critical comments against Home Ministry in relation to China as he asked him not to speak about functioning of other ministries.

Singh spoke to Ramesh and emphatically told him that there was "no confusion" in the government over its approach towards China with which it wanted to have "constructive engagement".

Singh told Ramesh that it was "advisable for Cabinet colleagues not to make comments on the functioning of other ministries, especially with regard to relationship with important neighbours like China," the PMO sources said.

The Prime Minister's blunt message to the Environment Ministry came two days after Ramesh said in Beijing that the Home Ministry was "overly defensive" and "alarmist" in its approach towards entry of Chinese companies in India.

"There is no confusion in our policies towards China and we continue to strive for constructive engagement with Beijing," Singh told Ramesh.

Ramesh, while talking about the India-China warmth developed during the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, had suggested that the Home Ministry needed to be "much more relaxed" in its approach to Chinese investments in India.

Tomb Raider: Jesus buried in Srinagar?

That Jesus survived crucifixion, travelled to Kashmir, eventually died there and is buried in Srinagar is an urban legend which has found many takers over the years. Every season hundreds of tourists visit the Rozabal shrine of Sufi saint Yuz Asaf in downtown Srinagar, believed by many to be the final resting place of Christ. But there’s a new twist to the tale — the medieval shrine was recently closed down after an enthusiastic ‘believer’ , New York-based writer Suzanne Olsson, allegedly tried to exhume it.

The shrine itself, at the edge of a winding alley in the backstreets of old Srinagar, first came into the limelight when a local journalist, Aziz Kashmiri, argued in his 1973 book, Christ in Kashmir, that Jesus survived crucifixion some 2,000 years ago, migrated to Kashmir and was buried in Srinagar. The modest stone building with traditional multi-tiered roof slipped into oblivion but came into focus again in 2002 when Olsson arrived in Srinagar, claiming to be Christ’s ‘59th descendant’ and seeking DNA testing of the shrine’s remains.

In a series of letters to the shrine’s caretakers , Olsson said she considers Rozabal a “private family tomb” . She further wrote: “My family has it (sic) origins in France, where Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene lived for 30 years after the crucifixion. There they had two sons and one daughter. We’re descendants of the son. And if you wish to know more, I refer you to a book called Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Sir Lawrence Gardner.” Olsson went on to add that she was considering moving court to press her claim and secure the right to exhume the tomb. “We feel any claims you make about the sanctity of the grave are invalid ... we would prefer to move our grandfather (out of Srinagar).’’

It was quite clear Olsson wanted to put her plan into action without wasting much time. One of the caretakers of the tomb, Mohammad Amin, alleged that they were forced to padlock the shrine as Olsson tried to dig it up and in doing so, insulted Islam. “She tried to raid the holy tomb,” he complains . He believed that the theory that Jesus is buried anywhere on the face of the earth is blasphemous to Islam.

The Quran, where Jesus is called Messiah — the Messenger, maintains that Christ was returned to God alive and not crucified.

Amin said in light of Quranic teachings no Muslim can accept Olsson’s theory. The caretaker even filed an FIR against her and got her visa cancelled. “Despite this we used to allow tourists to enter the shrine but we became suspicious when she tried to get curfew imposed in the locality and plant something at the shrine to authenticate her claim.”

Olsson, though, doesn’t seem to be alone in her conviction. There are some who support her view. Renowned Kashmiri academic Fida Hassnain’s 1994 book, A Search for the Historical Jesus, was about this legend. Later, he co-authored a book on the subject with Olsson, Roza Bal the Tomb of Jesus.

The shrine is called by Lonely Planet, as the “Jesus Tomb” . There are some caveats about blasphemy, but is marked as a must-visit tourist spot in the Valley.

Caretaker Amin said some local traders circulated these “lies” thinking it would be good for business. “They thought it could become a tourist hub after all these years of violence.” He said after the shrine made it to the Lonely Planet, too many people, often rowdy, started coming in. One of the tourists damaged the tomb and took the broken piece home as a souvenir.

Rozabal is not the only story linking Jesus to Kashmir. It is said that he also visited a Buddhist monastery, the ruins of which are near Srinagar. The stories of Jesus in India date back to the 19th century and find mention in a plethora of texts by scholars of varied persuasions — Islamic, Buddhist and Christian. In fact, it is believed that during his missing years (between 12 and 30), unmentioned in the Gospels, Jesus was in India and picked up Buddhist ideas.

Amin said the Caretakers’ Committee has decided to convene a religious leaders’ meeting to discuss the issue. But Olsson insists that there’s nothing sacrilegious about her DNA project. “It’s routinely done around the world. From Egyptian mummies to the Christian Saint Luke, people are using this scientific tool to help study ancient history,’’ she said in an email interview to TOI-Crest from New York. “The DNA from Rozabal will tell us a lot about history,” she went on to say. “First, who is Yuz(a) Asaf? We’ll never know until archaeologists are allowed to examine the artefacts and the tomb.”

Olsson refuted allegations that she had attempted to remove anything from the tomb, or dug it up. “I can’t imagine who started those rumours or why,” she said and maintained that the belief that there is a Muslim saint in the same tomb is untrue. “The tomb predates Islam and could never be a Muslim tomb."

Stalemate ends, BJP to form new govt in Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: Ending a fortnight-long stalemate, JMM and AJSU on Saturday announced support to a BJP-led government in Jharkhand for the remaining four-and-a-half year tenure of the state Assembly.

The decision was arrived at a meeting attended by BJP President Nitin Gadkari, senior party leader Ananth Kumar, Jharkhand deputy chief minister Raghubar Das, JMM Legislature Party leader Hemant Soren and AJSU President Sudesh Mahato here.

The BJP Parliamentary Board will meet on Monday to decide its chief ministerial candidate.

"We had fruitful discussions with senior BJP leaders. We will support a government in Jharkhand under BJP leadership. The decision has been taken to save the state from President's Rule," Hemant Soren said.

BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar insisted that the talks ended on a happy note.

"A BJP-led government will be formed in Jharkhand. We want to save the state from Congress misrule. A stable government which stands for development will be formed," he said.

"We have decided that this government will complete its full term....This decision has been taken for the entire period of the Assembly," Kumar added.

A Common Minimum Programme (CMP) on how to run the government will be chalked out soon. Gadkari is sending an observer to Ranchi to discuss the matter with BJP, JMM and All Jharkhand Students Union, and JD(U) leaders from the state.

BJP, which had decided to withdraw support to the Shibu Soren government on April 28 after the JMM chief voted against the BJP-sponsored cut-motions in the Lok Sabha, put its decision on hold after Hemant made an offer to BJP to head the government in the state.

Among the front-runners for the post of chief minister are former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, former chief minister and general secretary Arjun Munda and deputy chief minister Raghubar Das.