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A key witness in the 26/11 attacks case who had deposed against accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed at the trial failed to appear before the court on Friday with the prosecution saying that he was “missing.”

The witness, Nurudin Shaikh, on Thursday told the court that the accused — Faheem and Sabauddin — had met him in Nepal and in his presence they discussed about the maps of some locations in Mumbai, which were later targeted by militants during the November 26 attacks last year.

The court had called the witness on Friday for cross-examination at 11 am but he failed to turn up.

Special public prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam told the court that crime branch officials had gone to the Goregaon residence of the witness to fetch him but his wife had said that Mr. Shaikh had left home early morning, saying that he has to go to the court.

“This is a serious matter,” judge M.L. Tahaliyani observed and said he would decide later on what steps the court should take in the matter.

Mr. Nikam also said that the identity of the witness had been kept secret earlier and was disclosed to the defence lawyer only on Thursday for cross-examination.

According to crime branch, the witness is a childhood friend of Faheem and is staying in the same locality where Faheem stayed in the city.

Faheem and Sabauddin, both Indian nationals, are facing trial along with Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab.

Mr. Shaikh on Thursday had told the court that maps of some locations in Mumbai were made by the duo at the instance of wanted accused Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

Source: The Hindu (PTI)

In an interim ruling on a petition from A.Q. Khan, the Lahore High Court ruled on Friday that no restrictions should be placed on the movements of the top scientist who was freed from a five-year long house arrest earlier this year.

The development is likely to send ripples of worry across the international community which remains concerned about the “A.Q. Khan proliferation network”. Chief among the fears is that Al Qaeda should not be able to lay its hands on any nuclear bomb know-how.

But the internationally disgraced Khan is widely revered in Pakistan for giving the country its nuclear bomb.

In February 2009, acting on a petition from him, the Islamabad High Court declared him a “free citizen”, ending a house arrest that began in February 2004 with his nationally televised confession of selling nuclear secrets abroad.

However, the court’s order also made clear it was subject to “terms and conditions” that had been “voluntarily accepted” by the scientist in a “secret agreement” with the government.

Although the terms of the deal remain outside the public realm, it was apparent that many of the restrictions on Mr. Khan continued, including a massive presence of government security personnel around his house. Though his house arrest ended, the terms of his “freedom” entailed that he had to give advance information about all his movement.

On Thursday, the scientist appealed to the Lahore High Court that the “official protocol” provided to him be removed as it was restricting his movements.

In an interim order, Lahore High Court judge Ejaz Ahmed ruled that there should be “no limitations” on Khan’s movement. The next hearing is on September 4.

The government was quiet about the ruling, but it is highly doubtful if Pakistan, which is under a constant international scanner, can give the disgraced scientist the freedom he seeks.

Reacting to the court’s ruling, Khan told reporters at his home in Islamabad’s plush E-7 sector that if the government did not remove the restrictions on him even after this, he would move the Supreme Court to obtain his freedom.

“I was living life as a prisoner under the official protocol,” he said. “I do not need it. I want to go freely.”

The scientist said he wanted to go to Karachi to visit his brother, who is unwell.

He told Geo News that if he continued to be treated badly by the government, he would reveal “sensitive secrets”.

Khan gave no interviews after his brief interaction with the press following the February 2009 court verdict, possibly under the terms of his restricted freedom. His only visible activity is a weekly column in The News, but even this has not been entirely free of controversy.

A letter-writer to the daily, a Phd student at Carnegie Mellon, pointed out earlier this week that large chunks of his recent column on computer education were lifted paragraph for paragraph from the undergraduate prospectus of the University of Sussex, the website of London’s Imperial College and the University of Cambridge.

There have been no reactions to the accusation of plagiarism, and the newspaper published the second part of the column titled Science of Computer this week.

Source:The Hindu

By: Nirupama Subramanian

In times of recession when pink-slips, lay-offs, dismissals and firings have almost become a part of day-today office-lingo, keeping one's job intact seems to be a common target for all office-goers. Blame it on the economic crunch or your bad stars, just about everybody is an eligible target for firing.

From cutting upon casual leaves to happily slogging over-time, being punctual about dead-lines to even giving maska therapy to bosses...undoubtedly, almost every professional seems to be going all out to retain their jobs. But why not try some Feng Shui magic to recharge your carrerlife. Here are some simple tips, ideas and changes that you can embrace to bring positive changes in your professional life so that it's not affected by the recession monster...

Keep the wealth intact

The easiest way to define job security is when there’s a regular flow of income. “So, to ensure that, it’s important to charge the West and South-East areas of your office, since these govern the flow of income and wealth” suggests Feng Shui expert Ritu Kapoor of Astroyogi.com .

“West can be energised by placing a red object in that direction. Colouring the handle of your door red, keeping a red foot-mat, vase or statue in the West can be easy solutions, " adds Ritu.

For charging the South East direction, Ritu suggests a water feature (preferably running) in that direction like a water fountain, artificial springs or an aquarium, else, water mixed with sea-salt can be kept in a bowl if keeping a running water feature is tough.

Stability wanted!

It is usually seen that when an employee is about to be fired, he is usually transferred between departments and bosses. Thus, gaining stability in your professional life and making a firm grounding in office becomes thea pre-requisites for job security.

It is the South-West area of your office that needs attention in this regard. “Make the South-West direction heavy by keeping boulders (stones) tied with red ribbon and a mystic knot embedded in it,” suggests Ritu.

“Make sure you have a solid wall behind your chair in the office as it will give you support and a firm backing,” suggests Feng Shui expert Ashok Mehta, adding, “if there’s a window instead of a wall, you can find solace by sitting on a high-back chair and if even that’s not possible, you can place a small stone or an artificial tortoise on the window sill.”

Source:TOI

House prices in England and Wales rose by 1.7% in July compared with June - the biggest monthly leap in value since July 2004, the Land Registry said.

Every region recorded a monthly rise in prices, with the average home valued at £155,885, the analysis found.

But prices were still 11.7% lower in July than they were in the same month a year earlier and sales were also down.

The annual drop in prices was sharpest in the North East of England but at its most shallow in Wales.

The Land Registry, which records all completed property sales in England and Wales, is widely regarded as producing one of the most authoritative house price reports, although it does lag behind data from lenders.

It compares the price of properties sold now with the price paid when they were sold previously. However, repossessions and property transfers following a divorce are excluded from the sample.