US names 5 Indian firms doing business with Iran

US names 5 Indian firms doing business with Iran :

NEW DELHI:

The US administration has named India's oil and gas flagship ONGC and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) among the 41 firms worldwide having energy ties with Iran, an act for which it may impose sanctions on them.




The United States Government Accountability Office this week released a report 'Firms Reported to Have Commercial Activity in the Iranian Energy Sector and US Government Contracts' listing companies who have energy ties with Tehran.



"The Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) provides for sanctions against persons, including foreign firms, who invest more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector in any 12-month period," the report said.



Of the 41 firms named in the report, five are Indian. Besides ONGC and IOC, it names ONGC Videsh Ltd - the overseas investment arm of the state-run explorer, Oil India Ltd and Petronet LNG Ltd.



OVL, IOC and OIL explored for oil and gas in Farsi block and proposed investing $5.5 billion in producing gas from the 21.68 trillion cubic feet discovery they made in the offshore block located near the Saudi Arabian border.



Besides, ONGC, OVL, Petronet and Hinduja Group last year signed agreements with Iran to develop one of the 28 phases of the giant South Pars gas field and convert the fuel into LNG for exports at an investment of over $10 billion.



The report, which said the US has not imposed sanctions on any firm for their Iran energy ties since 1998, also names Hinduja for ties with Iran but lists it as a UK firm. When contacted, ONGC Chairman and Managing Director and OVL Chairman RS Sharma declined comments but a senior official said the Indian firms' business in Iran were in full compliance with the Government of India policy.



"Whatever we are doing is fully compliant with the Government of India policy. We have not violated any rule by investing in Iran. In fact, our investment in Iran has not even violated the US law as OVL-IOC-OIL have not invested more than $20 million in any one year in exploring for oil and gas in Farsi block," the official said. The $20 million barrier will be broken only when Iran awards them the contract to develop the field or if the Indians made investment in the South Pars fields.


"As of now, we only have agreements for Farsi and South Pars Phase-12 development and no investment has gone into the ground," he said.



The US and its allies are aggressively pushing for new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. The Obama administration is trying to convince foreign firms that it was becoming too politically risky for them to do business with an increasingly isolated Iran.

Ref :-TimesOf India

Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson

Born: 1 July 1967


Birthplace: Ladysmith, B.C., Canada

Best known as: Blonde lifeguard C.J. Parker on Baywatch

Pamela Anderson first became a star in the cast of the TV show Baywatch, where she played lifeguard C.J. Parker from 1992-96. She also posed for Playboy magazine, adding to her notoriety and positioning her perfectly for the Internet pinup boom of the mid-1990s. Anderson's wild blonde mane and spectacular store-bought bosom made her one of the Web's most-requested and most-downloaded stars (as well as a dependable punch line for comedians and talk show hosts). Her on-again, off-again marriage to rock star Tommy Lee and later romantic relationship with music star Kid Rock also became favorite topics for tabloids. (She and Kid Rock were engaged in 2002, broke it off in 2003, and then reunited and were married on 29 July 2006.) Anderson's film appearances include Barb Wire (1996) and Scary Movie 3 (2003, with fellow bombshell Jenny McCarthy). She also starred in the short-lived TV series, V.I.P. in the late 1990s and provided the voice for the animated series Stripperella. In 2004 she published Star, a novel which seemed to be closely based on her own Hollywood career, and in 2005 she starred in her own comedy television series, Stacked. Anderson began dating pop singer Kid Rock in 2001, and the two were married for four months in 2006. Anderson married Rick Salomon, a home video entrepreneur and former Paris Hilton boyfriend, on 6 October 2007; that marriage was annulled in March of 2008.

Extra credit: Anderson once played the "Tool Time Girl" on the TV sitcom Home Improvement... In 2002, Anderson announced that she had hepatitis C, saying she had picked up the disease by sharing a tattoo needle with Tommy Lee... She was briefly engaged to actor Scott Baio... She has two sons with Lee: Brandon (b. 1996) and Dyla (b. 1997)... Other stars who got a career boost from Baywatch include Yasmine Bleeth, Carmen Electra, Gena Lee Nolin and Brooke Burns.

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Born: May 7, 1861


Died: August 7, 1941

Achievements: Rabindranath Tagore became the first Asian to became Nobel laureate when he won Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, in 1913; awarded knighthood by the British King George V; established Viswabharati University; two songs from his Rabindrasangit canon are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh



Rabindranath Tagore was an icon of Indian culture. He was a poet, philosopher, musician, writer, and educationist. Rabindranath Tagore became the first Asian to became Nobel laureate when he won Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, in 1913. He was popularly called as Gurudev and his songs were popularly known as Rabindrasangeet. Two songs from his Rabindrasangit canon are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh: the Jana Gana Mana and the Amar Shonar Bangla.



Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7, 1861 in a wealthy Brahmin family in Calcutta. He was the ninth son of Debendranath and Sarada Devi. His grandfather Dwarkanath Tagore was a rich landlord and social reformer. Rabindra Nath Tagore had his initial education in Oriental Seminary School. But he did not like the conventional education and started studying at home under several teachers. After undergoing his upanayan (coming-of-age) rite at the age of eleven, Tagore and his father left Calcutta in 1873 to tour India for several months, visiting his father's Santiniketan estate and Amritsar before reaching the Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie. There, Tagore read biographies, studied history, astronomy, modern science, and Sanskrit, and examined the classical poetry of Kalidasa.



In 1874, Tagore's poem Abhilaash (Desire) was published anonymously in a magazine called Tattobodhini. Tagore's mother Sarada Devi expired in 1875. Rabindranath's first book of poems, Kabi Kahini ( tale of a poet ) was published in 1878. In the same year Tagore sailed to England with his elder brother Satyandranath to study law. But he returned to India in 1880 and started his career as poet and writer. In 1883, Rabindranath Tagore married Mrinalini Devi Raichaudhuri, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.



In 1884, Tagore wrote a collection of poems Kori-o-Kamal (Sharp and Flats). He also wrote dramas - Raja-o-Rani ( King and Queen) and Visarjan (Sacrifice). In 1890, Rabindranath Tagore moved to Shilaidaha (now in Bangladesh) to look after the family estate. Between 1893 and 1900 Tagore wrote seven volumes of poetry, which included Sonar Tari (The Golden Boat) and Khanika. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore became the editor of the magazine Bangadarshan. He Established Bolpur Bramhacharyaashram at Shantiniketan, a school based on the pattern of old Indian Ashrama. In 1902, his wife Mrinalini died. Tagore composed Smaran ( In Memoriam ), a collection of poems, dedicated to his wife.



In 1905, Lord Curzon decided to divide Bengal into two parts. Rabindranath Tagore strongly protested against this decision. Tagore wrote a number of national songs and attended protest meetings. He introduced the Rakhibandhan ceremony , symbolizing the underlying unity of undivided Bengal.



In 1909, Rabindranath Tagore started writing Gitanjali. In 1912, Tagore went to Europe for the second time. On the journey to London he translated some of his poems/songs from Gitanjali to English. He met William Rothenstein, a noted British painter, in London. Rothenstien was impressed by the poems, made copies and gave to Yeats and other English poets. Yeats was enthralled. He later wrote the introduction to Gitanjali when it was published in September 1912 in a limited edition by the India Society in London. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali. In 1915 he was knighted by the British King George V.



In 1919, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Tagore renounced his knighthood. He was a supporter of Gandhiji but he stayed out of politics. He was opposed to nationalism and militarism as a matter of principle, and instead promoted spiritual values and the creation of a new world culture founded in multi-culturalism, diversity and tolerance. Unable to gain ideological support to his views, he retired into relative solitude. Between the years 1916 and 1934 he traveled widely.



1n 1921, Rabindranath Tagore established Viswabharati University. He gave all his money from Nobel Prize and royalty money from his books to this University. Tagore was not only a creative genius, he was quite knowledgeable of Western culture, especially Western poetry and science too. Tagore had a good grasp of modern - post-Newtonian - physics, and was well able to hold his own in a debate with Einstein in 1930 on the newly emerging principles of quantum mechanics and chaos. His meetings and tape recorded conversations with his contemporaries such Albert Einstein and H.G. Wells, epitomize his brilliance.



In 1940 Oxford University arranged a special ceremony in Santiniketan and awarded Rabindranath Tagore with Doctorate Of Literature. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore passed away on August 7, 1941 in his ancestral home in Calcutta.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale Biography

Gopal Krishna Gokhale Biography

Born: May 9, 1866

Died: February 19, 1915

Achievements: Political guru of Mahatma Gandhi; one of the pioneers of the Indian national movement; founder of the Servants of India Society.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one of the pioneers of the Indian national movement. He was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Gokhale gave voice to the aspirations of millions of Indians who were looking for freedom from the British rule. Gandhiji considered him as his political guru. Apart from being a political leader, Gopalkrishna Gokhale, was also a social reformer. He founded the "Servants of India Society"-an organization dedicated to the cause of common people. Gopal Krishna Gokhale's contribution to the making of Indian nation is invaluable.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on May 9, 1866 in Kothapur, Maharashtra. His father Krishna Rao was a farmer who was forced to work as clerk, as the soil of the region was not conducive for agriculture. His mother Valubai was a simple woman. Gokhale received his early education at the Rajaram High School in Kothapur with the help of financial assistance from his elder brother. Later on he moved on to Bombay and graduated from Elphinstone College, Bombay in 1884 at the age of 18.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one of the first generations of Indians to receive college education. He was respected widely in the nascent Indian intellectual community and across India. Education influenced Gokhale greatly. His understanding of the English language allowed him to express himself without hesitation and with utmost clarity. His appreciation and knowledge of history instilled in him a respect for liberty, democracy, and the parliamentary system. After graduation, he moved on to teaching, and took a position as an Assistant Master in the New English School in Pune. In 1885, Gokhale moved on to Pune and became one of the founding members of Fergusson College, along with his colleagues in Deccan Education Society. Gopal Krishna Gokhale gave nearly two decades of his life to Fergusson College and rose to become principal of the college. During this time, Gokhale came in contact with Mahadev Govind Ranade. Ranade was a judge, scholar, and social reformer, whom Gokhale called his guru. Gokhale worked with Ranade in Poona Sarvajanik Sabha of which Gokhale became the Secretary.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale entered public life in 1886 at the age of 20. He delivered a public address on "India under the British Rule", which was highly appreciated. Gokhale regularly contributed articles to Bal Gangadhar Tilak's weekly "Mahratta". Through his articles he tried to awaken the latent patriotism of Indian people. Soon, Gokhale was promoted as Secretary of the Deccan Education Society. When the Indian National Congress held its session in Poona in 1895, he was the secretary of the Reception Committee. From this session, Gokhale became a prominent member of the Indian National Congress. Gokhale was twice elected as president of Pune Municipality. For a while Gokhale was also a member of the Bombay Legislative Council where he spoke strongly against the then Government.

In 1902, Gokhale left the Fergusson College. He became a Member of the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi. There he spoke for the people of the country in an able manner. Gokhale had an excellent grasp of the economic problems of our country which he ably presented during the debates. In 1905, Gokhale started a new society called "Servants of India Society". This society trained workers for the service of the country. In the same year, Gokhale went to England to voice his concerns relating to the unfair treatment of the Indian people by the British government. In a span of 49 days, he spoke in front of 47 different audiences, captivating every one of them. Gokhale pleaded for gradual reforms to ultimately attain Swaraj, or self-government, in India. He was instrumental in the introduction of the Morley- Minto Reforms of 1909, which eventually became law. Though the reforms sowed the seeds of communal division in India, nevertheless, they gave Indian access to the seats of the highest authority within the government, and their voices were more audible in matters of public interest.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a diabetic and asthmatic. Excessive assertion took its toll on Gokhale's health and ultimately he died on February 19, 1915.

Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy

Born: November 24, 1961


Achievement: Won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her first novel "The God of Small Things"; Awarded Sydney Peace Prize in 2004.



Arundhati Roy is a famous Indian novelist and social activist. Arundhati Roy came into limelight in 1997 when she won the Booker Prize for her first novel "The God of Small Things". She was awarded Sydney Peace Prize in 2004.



Arundhati Roy was born November 24, 1961 in Assam. Her mother was a Keralite Christian and her father was a Bengali Hindu. Their marriage was not successful and Arundhati Roy spent her childhood years in Aymanam, Kerala with her mother. Arundhati's mother, who was a prominent social activist, founded an independent school and taught her daughter informally.



At age of sixteen Arundhati left home, and eventually enrolled at the Delhi School of Architecture. There she met her first husband, Gerard Da Cunha, a fellow architecture student. Their marriage lasted four years. Both of them did not have great love for architecture, so they quit their profession and went off to Goa. They used to make cake and sell it on the beach to make living. This continued for seven months after which Arundhati returned back to Delhi.



She took a job at the National Institute of Urban Affairs, rented a barsati near the dargah at Nizamuddin and hired a bicycle. One day film director Pradeep Krishen saw her cycling down a street and offered her a small role of tribal girl in the film "Massey Saab". Arundhati Roy accepted the role after initial reservations. She later on married Pradeep Krishen. Meanwhile, Arundhati got a scholarship to go to Italy for eight months to study the restoration of monuments.



After returning from Italy Arundhati Roy linked with her husband to planned a 26 episode television serial for Doordarshan called the Banyan Tree. The serial was later scrapped. She wrote screenplays for a couple of TV films - "In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones" and "Electric Moon". Arundhati Roy also wrote screenplay for Shekhar Kapur's controversial film 'Bandit Queen'. The controversy escalated into a court case, after which Arundhati Roy retired to private life to concentrate on her writing, which eventually resulted in "The God of Small Things".



After winning the Booker Prize for "The God of Small Things", Arundhati Roy has concentrated her writings on political issues. She has written on varied topics such as Narmada Dam project, India's nuclear weapons and American power giant Enron's activities in India. Arundhati Roy strongly associated with anti-globalization movement and is a staunch critic of neo-imperialism.

Mexico, Germany urges action on climate change

Mexico, Germany urges action on climate change

- By Verena Schmitt-Roschmann (Associated Press)

With the fight against global warming in serious trouble, Germany and Mexico are calling on world leaders to get international negotiations back on track and reach concrete results by the end of the year.

“We need to show the world how serious the threat is,” Mexican President Felipe Calderon said as he opened an international climate change conference in Germany on Sunday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also spoke at the opening of the conference co-hosted by both countries and aimed at laying the groundwork for the next U.N. conference on climate change, asked nations around the world for more ambition in their efforts to cut greenhouse gases.

While scientists believe global temperatures must not rise by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times, the world is now headed for a 3 to 4 degree increase, Merkel said.

“We have to realize that we have quite a long way to go to reach the 2-degree-goal,” Merkel said. “Therefore we have to ascertain how we can reach our goals nonetheless.”Mexico will host the next U.N. conference on climate change in Cancun in December, the first such high-level summit after the troubled U.N. conference in Copenhagen five months ago.

Germany has long presented itself as a driving force in the international efforts to curb global warming and came up with the idea of a “mid-term” meeting.

Both countries invited ministers and representatives from around 45 countries for informal talks on the Petersberg up above Koenigswinter.

The three-day conference called the Petersberg Dialogue hopes to make some progress on details, but most of all build trust between poor and rich nations, Calderon said.

He said the conference could produce a “clear message, this will be the signal whether it will be possible to reach a uniform agreement.”

Nations around the world agreed in 2007 to negotiate a new international treaty to fight global warming which scientists say has already started to cause some alarming changes such as droughts, flooding or heavier storms.

A treaty was originally hoped for in Copenhagen, but that meeting produced less than expected.

President Barack Obama and a few dozen other major players drafted the so-called Copenhagen Accord, which includes the 2-degree-goal and an immediate $30 billion three-year aid package for poorer nations.

However, the accord failed to gain full support at the summit, as some smaller countries felt left out in the process and were unhappy with the results of closed-door negotiations.

German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said the Petersberg meeting is designed to work intensely on some sticking points and to build trust among those who eventually have to work with each other on the U.N. level.

To have something to show for even while the negotiating is going on, nations should agree on concrete projects to curb greenhouse gas emissions or to adapt to climate change, he said.

Calderon and Merkel said one of the areas that could see some progress in Cancun was the fight against deforestation.

Mexico’s president stressed that saving forests could help fight poverty at the same time as it would give residents an income.

Since Copenhagen, momentum in the drive to control global warming has slowed in some countries. The U.S. has not tackled its domestic energy bill; and Australia — one of the world’s biggest per capita polluters — put off for as long as two years legislation setting up carbon trading.


Roettgen has said his country and others have not given up on striking a deal at the U.N. climate summit in Cancun Nov. 29-Dec. 10.

First love

First love

Theoretically first love can happen in any age or not happen at all. But most people had fallen in love for the first time when they were teenagers. That exciting new experience most of us remember very well during all our life. For an adult his/her own high school problems and the problems of their children seem very funny, silly and simple especially compared with all the difficulties of adult life. Somehow we forget how tragic and full of drama life and relationships were than in our adolescence.

Than a teenager falls in love and it happens for the first time he/she feels all it’s ups and downs for the first time either. In that age we mostly enjoy ourselves and study the new emotions inside than show much interest for the inner world of our first boy/girlfriend.



Once we start to show interest to the persons of the other sex and a little later instinctively choose our first love. The relationships between two sexes will interest and trouble us during all our future life but these first steps are always the most difficult and for some of us turn to be very painful. Teenager has a growing and changing body that he/she hasn’t started to understand yet and a delicate soul which is so easy to hurt.



Adults very often don’t take this first affection for serious, they may laugh at it, preach, tell their children that they are too young to really feel anything, that his or her object isn’t a good pair for him or her, they may try obey them stop seeing their boy/girlfriend. This is all very wrong. No one can stop anybody from falling in love especially when it’s so beckoning with the novelty. Wise adults can only try to support their young comrade to pass this complicated with the least wounds and hurt. The feelings of adolescents are as changeable as their mood. So the first love usually goes very soon after it comes. The mission of people around is to show that it’s not the end of world and that a teenager is not alone, that there still stay people who love him/her and in their love he/her can’t be sure. The first love is only the first lesson to learn but it like Alphabet stays in the basic of the whole future relationships of a human.



Very often we cherish these memories a lot, sometimes idealise them, remember the first love as something very innocent and fragile. If something went wrong than some people may have some problems with starting new relationships, they may even achieve come serious complexes that will be spoiling their relationships all the time.



But there’s no such low that tells we all fall in love for the first time in our adolescence if not with our coevals, than with our favourite teaches, famous actors and pop-stars. Yes, teenagers searching an ideal love object in the real life and not finding it there can turn to TV-screen heroes, or persons who are elder and seem wiser and more experienced when the people of the same with them age. Of cause most adults don’t take these kid’s falling for them too serious. It passes as does the hysterical passion for the pop-stars. But still some people don’t fall in love at this age of first love at all, they have some boy/girlfriends in order not to differ from others, to satisfy curiosity and a booty call, they may really like the coevals they have relationships with, but still it nothing serious. For those people their first love may come later, and the feeling will be the same new and surprising for them as for the teenagers. But Bernard Show said that if you haven’t fallen in love till you’re forty you already shouldn’t do it after.