Essential Educational news http://www.mediasyndicate.in/ copyrights reserved The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Monday vowed to make vigorous efforts to promote political restructuring and said measures would be taken to improve living standards across the country. The decisions were taken at a meeting of the CPC central committee to determine the country's development agenda for the next five years (2011-2015), Xinhua reported. The central committee also approved the appointment of Vice President Xi Jinping, 57, as vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, signalling that Xi is President Hu Jintao's most likely successor when Hu retires as party leader in 2012. The CPC said that China would continue opening wider to the outside world and accelerate the 'going global' strategy. Reform was 'a powerful driving force' for accelerating the transformation of the economic development mode, the central committee said in a communique issued at the end of the four-day meeting. Great impetus would be given to economic restructuring, while 'vigorous yet steady' efforts should be made to promote political restructuring and more efforts should be made to speed up the promotion of cultural and social reforms, said the communique. The party said China aimed to achieve major breakthroughs in economic restructuring and maintain stable and relatively fast economic growth. 'China will further boost people's incomes, enhance social construction and deepen reform and opening-up,' the communique said. That would facilitate 'substantial progress in transforming the economic development pattern, and markedly promote China's comprehensive national strength, international competitiveness and better shield against risks', it said. It would also help improve people's lives and consolidate the basis of a well-off society, it said. Wang Changjiang, of the party school of the CPC central committee, said 'all-round reforms will be pushed forward simultaneously', not just economic reforms that had continued steadily for more than three decades. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287424405 Chinese authorities have allowed anti-Japanese demonstrations in several cities to defuse simmering public anger over a territorial dispute with Japan and to prevent the frustrations from being turned against the Chinese regime itself. Thousands of Chinese joined in sometimes violent protests, hoisting signs protesting Japan's claim on what China calls the Diaoyu islands. Japan calls them the Senkaku islands. Japanese retailers Ito-Yokado and Isetan said protesters in the southwestern city of Chengdu broke windows and showcases in their stores. The website of the anti-Japanese China Federation for Defending Diaoyutai posted a photo that showed protesters in Chengdu holding a red and yellow canvas banner that called for Japan to be wiped off the face of the earth. Others used English and Chinese profanities and urged violence against Japanese. "Take a Japanese wife, then string her up and beat her everyday," read a sign held up by a young man and pictured on Gouride.com, a Chinese language web forum dedicated to anti-Japanese discussions. A student at the Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu said plans for the demonstration there were spread through online instant messaging groups but he was unclear about who had organized it. In Chengdu, a woman who was eating in a fast food restaurant along the demonstration route was forced to strip because marchers mistook her traditional Chinese dress for a kimono. She undressed in a bathroom and borrowed clothes from others, said the manager of the Dicos restaurant where the incident occurred. The man, who would only give his surname, Zhong, said he shut down the restaurant for a few hours until the marchers passed. While allowing the demonstrations, the government also tried to quickly distance itself from the violence and offensive language of some protesters, posting a statement late Saturday that called for "rational" patriotism. A man in the political department at Wuhan's Public Security Bureau said he had not heard anything about a protest Monday. Phones in the bureau's publicity department and general office rang unanswered. China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said more than 2,000 people protested in Chengdu and thousands of college students gathered in the northern city of Xian. The report was in English only. The protests were not reported in Chinese-language state media, and many comments and photos were quickly removed from mainland websites. A row between Japan and China blew up because the year-old centre left government in Tokyo failed to keep a secret pact with China over disputed islands, Japanese media said. Under the secret promises, Japan was in principle to prevent landings (of Chinese nationals) on the islets and not to detain them unless it develops into a case of grave concerns. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287424377 The German government says it will adopt new plans to better integrate immigrants, two days after Chancellor Angela Merkel declared multiculturalism a total failure. "For a while multiculturalism in Germany was about immigrants living as they wished and not putting integration too much in the forefront ... This is what the chancellor wanted to stress," spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday. "In everybody's interest, this society has to act, and the government will act," he told a regular government briefing. Advertisement: Story continues below Next Wednesday, Merkel's centre-right cabinet would adopt "concrete" new regulations governing immigration policy and residency permits, addressing German language courses and combating forced marriages, he said. He added that the government aimed in December to sign off on a bill that would see more foreign diplomas formally recognised, something which would help employers in Europe's biggest economy find badly needed qualified workers. "This country is extremely glad to have hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of people with foreign roots who are well integrated," Seibert said. "But we also recognise, and perhaps we are stressing it more now than in years gone by, that with some foreigners integration is not happening as it should. In some cases it is quite openly being rejected." Merkel's comments on Saturday came after weeks of debate sparked by central banker Thilo Sarrazin saying that Germany's 16 million people with an immigration background were making the country "more stupid." "We feel tied to Christian values. Those who don't accept them don't have a place here," the chancellor, 56, who faces a tough series of state elections next year, told a gathering of young members of her party. Merkel spokesman stressed, however, with President Christian Wulff's comments earlier this month, that Islam was now "part of Germany", remarks that drew criticism from within Merkel and Wulff's party. A week later Horst Seehofer, premier of Bavaria and head of the sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats, told a magazine the country did not need any more Turkish or Arab immigrants because they "find it harder" to integrate. The popularity of a book by Sarrazin and a recent study showing strong anti-foreigner sentiment have raised fears about a right-wing populist attracting significant support, although no such figure has yet emerged. Studies show there is indeed work to do, with immigrants more likely to be poor and their children performing badly at school and in the labour market. There are also concerns that a lack of integration of Germany's four million Muslims was helping create homegrown Islamic extremists. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287424354 The standoff between an injured guerrilla hiding in a mosque in Kashmir's Bandipora district and the security forces continued Monday evening as a village cleric and elders failed to persuade the militant to surrender. "The injured militant lobbed a grenade at the surrounding security men who did not retaliate in deference to the mosque inside which the militant is hiding," a senior police officer said here. The injured militant took shelter in the mosque in Dabban village after a gun battle early Monday morning when a group of militants moving around in the forest area near Dabban village was surrounded by personnel of the counter-insurgency force, the Rahstriya Rifles and state police. The militants were challenged to surrender but instead opened fire on the security forces. "One terrorist was killed and another injured in a gunfight with the security forces in forest foothill village of Dabban in Bandipora district early today (Monday). The injured terrorist entered the mosque in the village," Army's 15 Corps spokesman Lt. Col. J.S. Brar said. "The local imam and village elders had tried earlier to persuade the holed up guerrilla to surrender, but failed," Brar added. Senior police and army officers have rushed to the spot to ensure that the situation is defused without causing any damage to the mosque. Security forces, meanwhile, tightened the cordon around the mosque and put up flashlights to ensure the guerrilla does not escape in the cover of darkness. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287424332 The Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari assaulted a Urdu journalist at a press conference after the journalist asked an inconvenient question on the Ayodhya dispute. An FIR was lodged against the Shahi Imam on a complaint by Mohammad Abdul Waheed Chisti, the reporter of a Urdu daily, at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow. The case was registered under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC. Bukhari has been urging Muslims not to accept a verdict based on faith. He also trashed the idea of a negotiated settlement to the Ayodhya dispute. This afternoon, when Chishti asked him why Muslims “shouldn’t be allowed to build an atmosphere of peace and brotherhood by resolving the issue through dialogue”, Bukhari at first ignored him. But Chishti, who said he brings out a newsweekly from Lucknow, wouldn’t give up. “I wanted to ask imam sahab what harm will it cause if we give up the land in Ayodhya for Hindus…. It’s time we made a new beginning,” he said. Two minutes later, when Chishti stood up again, Bukhari shouted: “It is because of people like you that the mosque was brought down. You traitor, shut up.” Then he wrapped up the conference. What provoked the assault was the media interest in Chishti that followed. As soon as the press conference was over, the electronic media swooped on Chishti for his reaction. His men tried to pull Chishti away from the TV cameras but were pushed away by the mediamen. Soon afterwards, Bukhari’s men told him that the journalist was talking to TV channels outside. Bhukhari, standing in a corner of the hotel hall, watched for some time. Then he asked his aides to catch hold of the scribe and beat him up. As his men attacked Chishti, some journalists grappled to stave them off. Bukhari was shouting at the top of his voice threatening the journalist with dire consequences. Chased out of the conference hall, he was first slapped by Bukhari and then roughed up by the imam’s supporters. “The maulana is a respected cleric, but the way he acted today, it was worse than a hooligan,” Chishti told reporters soon after the melee ended. Waheed Chishti, a sufi, is general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Maha Sufi Sangh Seva Samity. He represents the Dastan-e-Awadh weekly. Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the Ayodhya case, castigated the maulana for “irresponsible” and “shameful” conduct. He said the attack on the scribe was a result of “frustration”. “The imam is frustrated as his efforts to sell himself as the messiah of Muslims have failed,” Ansari said, calling Bukhari an “opportunist” trying to capitalise on the Ayodhya verdict to serve vested interests. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287143661 All of the 33 trapped Chilean miners were rescued to safety today as millions watched round the globe and church bells pealed across the nation after a two-month underground ordeal. In a complicated but flawless operation under Chile's far northern desert, Luis Urzua, who was shift leader when the mine collapsed in early August, emerged last through 625 metres of rock in a metal capsule little wider than a man's shoulders. 33 unknown miners now have become international heroes. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287125170 The UP wing of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha has alleged that Swami Chakrapani, who has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case on behalf of the Mahasabha, is not their national president. It said Himani Savarkar is the national president of the organisation, while Chakrapani was only a member of the national committee. In a statement on Tuesday, PK Tiwari, spokesman of the UP unit of the Mahasabha said, that Chakrapani’s act was meant to create confusion and promote factionalism. He said the Mahasabha’s UP president Kamlesh Tiwari had been authorised to file a caveat in the SC, which he will do on October 19. Tiwari said he had met the Mahasabha counsel Hari Shanker Jain today to discuss filing an appeal against the HC order in the apex court. The UP unit will also ask for removal of Chakrapani from the national committee because he is “an agent of the BJP and the RSS”, said the spokesman.The high-powered committee of the party had already decided to lodge a case against Swami Chakrapani in this connection. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287046516 Bibi Aisha, 18, whose nose and ears were cutoff by her Taliban husband has got a prosthetic nose. Standing before an audience of politicians, advocates and admirers, an Afghan woman whose face was disfigured by her abusive husband wore a sophisticated prosthetic nose, revealing what she'll look like once ongoing reconstructive surgery is completed. She appeared on cover of Time magazine in August. On Oct 8th, 2010, she appears at an event in California, wearing a prosthetic nose to show what she will look like after reconstructive surgery is completed. Married at age 13, Aisha endured years of abuse before trying to escape. Her attempt was thwarted, and Aisha's husband, a member of the Taliban, cut off her nose and ears as punishment. In the United States since this summer, she's been undergoing reconstructive surgery paid for by the Grossman Burn Foundation in California. And last weekend, Aisha was honored with an Enduring Heart Award at the foundation's annual gala event. At the event, Aisha wore a prosthetic.The custom-designed prosthetic is difficult to distinguish from the real thing. It's unclear how far along her reconstructive surgery is, but Aisha has a long road ahead. Surgeons will need to rebuild the nasal skeleton as well as muscle and skin. The good news for Aisha is that this kind of reconstructive surgery has made rapid strides in the last decade. In 2007, surgeons at Johns Hopkins tackled a challenge similar to hers, as they rebuilt an Iraq veteran's entire nose from his own body parts. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1287042088 The U.N General Assembly has elected India, South Africa, Colombia, Germany and Portugal as the five new regional non-permanent members of the Security Council, the world organization's most powerful entity. The two-year term begins on January 1 of next year. India has received the highest number of votes for getting into the United Nations Security Council in the past five years. Out of the 190 countries that voted, India received 187 votes. The high number of votes indicated widespread support for its presence on the international stage. The massive margin is indicative of the respect India commands for its role in security related matters. These five will replace Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda, whose terms end December 31. The five members elected last year--Bosnia, Brazil, Gabon, the Lebanon and Nigeria--will remain on the council until the end of the next year. Germany won one of the two seats assigned to Western Europe and Other Groups (WEOG) while Portugal was awarded the other seat, after Canada withdrew its bid after two inconclusive rounds of voting. South Africa and Colombia won the African and Latin American seats respectively, while India won the Asian seat after Kazakhstan pulled out from the race earlier this year. The G-4 group comprising Germany, India, Japan and Brazil has been calling for the expansion of the Security Council, unchanged since its formation at the end of the second world war in 1945, to add six more permanent seats to the Council without the power of veto, and a further four non-permanent seats. Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Angola, Serguey Nenachev, has described as legitimate Africa's demand for two permanent places in the Security Council, stressing that there was need to reinforce the presence of the continent in the decisive sector of the U.N. The election of Africa as a non-permanent member would make for effective participation in global governance of the United Nations, he added. Separately, Indian envoy to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, said that New Delhi would use the two-year stint to build trust and give a sense of confidence to the five permanent members--China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. India, a founding-member of the U.N., is returning to the Security Council after a gap of 19 years having been on the Council six times. The Security Council is made up of 15 members, five permanent members with veto rights and 10 non-permanent members, elected every two years. Hailing the U.N.'s selection a "significant vote of confidence," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle pledged to "do everything possible to justify the confidence reposed in us by the United Nations." http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1286968400 In the days following the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo, Human Rights in China (HRIC) has continued to receive information on individuals being subjected to surveillance, restriction of communications and movement, house arrest, and forced departure from place of residence. These cases have been reported by Western contacts inside China. October 8-9, Beijing Xu Yonghai, leader of the Sheng’ai Christian Fellowship, a Beijing-based house church, was under police surveillance. Officers were stationed outside Xu’s home and prohibited him from going out. Following negotiations, police allowed Xu and his wife to leave to buy food and take a walk in the park with a police escort. The officers also told Xu to not attend any gatherings, but Xu refused. October 9, Beijing Sheng’ai member Yang Jingdi was forcibly taken from his home by police, who said that they were taking him to Pinggu District in the outskirts of Beijing. Dissident and Sheng’ai member Hu Shigen was placed under house arrest. Police told him to not attend Sheng’ai’s gatherings, which Hu refused. October 10, Beijing Due to police restrictions, Gao Hongming, Gao Yuxiang, and Yan Zhengxue were unable to attend Sheng’ai Christian Fellowship’s Sunday gathering. October 12, Beijing Liu Xia’s new cell phone account was deactivated. Several of her friends, including Liu Di, Mo Zhixu , and Wang Jinbo , were also placed under house arrest and could not be reached. Rights defense lawyer Jiang Tianyong’s home door lock was filled with glue, making it impossible for him to leave his home. A similar incident occurred on September 14 as well. Freelance writer Liu Di’s home was guarded by 3-4 plainclothes police officers. Liu was kept under round-the-clock surveillance. http://mediasyndicate.in/medsyn/1286968334