Manipuri Girl Arrested with Nigerian Partner For Lottery Fraud

New Delhi, Mar 3 : Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have smashed a gang allegedly involved in an e-mail lottery scam with the arrest of a Nigerian national and his Indian woman accomplice. Obaseki Prince (32), the Nigerian national, and Boni Sushila James (26) from Manipur, were arrested from outside IGI airport on

February 24 following a probe into a complaint filed by one Rakesh (21) that he was cheated of Rs 90,000 by making him believe that he had won a 7.5 lakh pound lottery.

Their victims belonged to various parts of India and are mostly well-to-do people. The scam has a distinct "Metro city signature" and the worst affected were from Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.

The total transaction on the above mentioned accounts is more than Rs 35 lakh since March 2010 till date.

"Prince came to India in March 2008. Some of his Nigerian friends were already into lottery fraud and helped him launch his own. He met Boni through some friends and together they started cheating people," Ashok Chand, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

Prince allegedly specialises in sending fake spoofed emails through e mail "nationwidebank@englandmail.com".

"The location of the sender is difficult to find in such spoofed e-mails. The lottery promises a windfall to the victim. Once hooked, the victim is asked to send information to an e-mail account generated by Prince," Chand said.

Prince used to ask the victims to keep the matter secret till the amount was received by them. He then tells the victim that releasing of the funds would require some small fee like cost of transfer fee, insurance, registration, RBI endorsement fees and other government clearances.

To make the offer seem authentic, calls were also made by some persons from England using telephone numbers +448713159061, +447010995814 and +447045755224.

The bank account numbers used by Prince belonged to persons known to him. Three of six accounts used by him belonged to his friend and co-accused Boni.

"Sometimes the victims were provided mobile phone number in India which were usually taken on fake identification documents," Chand said.

Prince allegedly used different softwares to facilitate his fraud. It included Advanced Mail Sender, EMail Pro and EMail Validator. These softwares were used to send one mail to millions of people across the globe and sort and segregate live email IDs from dead ones.

Boni completed her BA from Manipur University in 2006. After that she came to Delhi with a friend.

Initially, she lived in Dwarka and started working as a sales executive cum customer care executive for a private firm in Gurgaon and later joined another company where she met one of her classmates who introduced her to some Nigerian Nationals.

Naga Reconciliation Receives A Set Back

Kohima, Mar 3 : The process of reconciliation among the splintered Naga groups appeared to have run into a rough weather when two signatories of the Covenant of Reconciliation today claimed that they would not take part at the highest level meeting if hostilities against them by the NSCN(I-M) were not stopped.

Close on the heels of NSCN(I-M) chairman Issac Chishi Swu's reiteration for his group's desire for the highest level meet with top leaders of other groups, NSCN(K) and NNC/FGN asserted that such a summit was not possible until "military offensive and territorial expansion mission" in Eastern Nagaland (Naga inhabited areas of Myanmar) are called off by NSCN(I-M).

Two groups of NSCN and NNC/FGN had signed the Covenant of Re-conciliation (CoR) in June 2009 in Thailand at the initiative of Forum for Naga Re-conciliation (FNR) and as part of the on-going peace and re-conciliation process, the FNR was trying to arrange a highest level meeting among top leaders of the three signatories for which Chishi has arrived in Nagaland.
In a joint statement here, the two signatories said that while the proposed highest level summit was supposed to be the most awaited event and perhaps the most decisive one, the NSCN(I-M) cadres led by a commander launched an offensive against NSCN(K) in Eastern Myanmar last month.

Claiming that NSCN(K) and NNC/FGN top leadership were making all necessary arrangements to facilitate their respective chiefs', S S Khaplang and S Singnya’s safe arrival for the proposed summit, the date for which was yet to be fixed, the statement regretted to inform the Naga public that that they would not be participating in the highest level meeting till the NSCN (IM) stopped its offensive.

"It is their ( Khaplang and Singnya) appeal that the highest level summit be deferred until military offensive and territorial expansion missions are called off by NSCN (IM)," the joint statement said.

The statement alleged that brushing aside the Covenant of Reconciliation and the FNR's appeals, in the first week of February 2011, NSCN (IM) dispatched a large number of its military to Eastern Nagaland to intercept and prevent Khaplang and Singnya's possible journey to Nagaland.

While appreciating Isak Chishi Swu's call for reconciliation through local media, it said that the arrival of NSCN(I-M) cadres in eastern Naga homeland nearly a month back and their military offensive motives could not be ignored.

"To those who genuinely cherish peace and reconciliation in Naga homeland, it is unthinkable to preach reconciliation in one part of Naga homeland and allow innocent blood to flow in another," the statement said.

"Chairman S S Khaplang and Kedahke Brig.(Retd) S Singnya, the two signatories of the CoR, despite the on-going military operation in eastern Nagaland by IM, believes that at an opportune time and hour, the will of the Naga people will come to the fore," it stated.

Meanwhile, expressing serious concern over the plight of Naga villagers across the border, Eastern Naga Students’ Association (ENSA) has appealed to both the NSCN groups to cease all kinds of offensive against each other.

Condemning the on-going factional clashes between two groups in Eastern Nagaland, the ENSA in a statement received here said that many precious lives were lost during the gun battle and many innocent villages were harassed and tortured by both the faction by ordering them to move out from their villages even during this peak season of seeds sowing in the fields.
ENSA president Michael Kaita said it was unfortunate on the part of the "Naga national workers to display their bitterness within the Naga family especially in front of innocent eastern Nagas who have been whole heartedly supporting the Naga cause from the beginning of Naga national movement."

The statement said that the ENSA believed "sovereignty" cannot be achieved with factional fight, but only through unity and reconciliation among the various factions and groups of Naga people

Opinion Polls May Not Be Allowed: Assam CEO

By Prasanta Mazumdar

Guwahati, Mar 3 : After exit poll, the axe may now fall on opinion poll with the Election Commission asserting that opinion poll might not be allowed if it influenced the voters.

“Opinion poll won’t be allowed,” Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Assam, Hemanta Narzary, told journalists at a press conference here on Wednesday evening. However, seconds later he added “Opinion poll won’t be allowed if it influences the voters”.

His reference was to opinion polls being conducted by some NGOs in the state.

The commission has decided to keep an eye on even pre-poll analysis by the media. “We will take measures if analysis (by the media) influences voters,” Narzary said.

The Election Commission has also decided to monitor the election expenditures by the candidates. According to the latest ECI guidelines, a candidate cannot spend beyond `16 lakh during the election campaigning.

“The commission has already issued guidelines asking the candidates to open a bank account solely for election-related expenditures,” Narzary said.

He also said that an election observer (EO), to be appointed in each election district, would monitor the election-related expenditures by the candidates. He will be assisted by an assistant election observer.

“Besides, a number of video surveillance teams, video viewing teams, accounting teams and others will monitor the expenditures,” the CEO said. He added that altogether 10 teams would monitor the expenditures in each election district.

The commission, he said, had already issued guidelines making the candidates to declare the assets of their spouses and dependents in their affidavits.

“All lists would be examined by the Income Tax Department after six months,” Narzary said.

The CEO said all illegal arms would be seized. “We have already instructed the deputy commissioners and the process is on,” he said.

The two-phase polls in Assam will be held on April 4 and 11. The state has over 1.81 crore voters.

Jessica Biel: Man's Best Fantasy!

Jessica Biel is one of the femme fatales of Hollywood. This glitzy glam doll has dabbled in every trade; she is a model, actress and has even belted out a few songs. With a body to die (and Kill!) for, Biel is one of the most searched celebs online.

As the sizzling hottie turns 29, we bring you some of the famous photographs that turned her into man's best fantasy.

Jessica Claire Biel was born on the March 3, 1982 in the small town of Ely in Minnesota, U.S. Her sizzling hot looks can be attributed to her German, French, English, and Choctaw ancestry.

Athletic from a young age she played soccer and also trained as a gymnast. She also likes snowboarding.

She became a singer first. Starting as early as nine, she played lead roles in journeyman productions of 'Annie', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Beauty and the Beast' in her hometown.

At the young age of 12, Biel was spotted and signed up by a talent agency at The International Modeling and Talent Association Conference in Los Angeles.

Biel's first big break came when at 14 years old she landed the role of Mary Camden on the WB TV Series '7th Heaven'.

Her movie career began at the age of 15, when she played grand-daughter to Peter Fonda in his Golden Globe winning performance in 'Ulee's Gold'.

In 2000, at the age of 17, Biel posed "topless" in a layout of 'Gear' magazine, a controversial move she defended as necessary to break her saintly image from '7th heaven' and get her a more grown up Hollywood personality.

Starting with 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' in 2003, she has appeared in numerous films such as 'Blade 4', 'Stealth' and so on. Her role in 2006's 'The Illusionist' was her ticket to stardom.

She followed this with hits such as 'Home of the Brave', 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry', 'Powder Blue' and 'A Team'. Her upcoming releases include 'Nailed', 'Tall Man' and 'New Years Eve'.

She was reportedly dating actor Chris Evans from 2001 to 2006. Then she was linked to '7th heaven' costar Adam LaVorgna before being linked to New York Yankees' star shortstop Derek Jeter. She is dating the sexy pop star Justin Timberlake since 2007.

Esquire magazine named her the "Sexiest Woman Alive" in a 2005 series. This was followed by Stuff magazine ranking her number 1 in their "100 Sexiest Women" list of 2007. She has appeared twice on Maxim magazine's Hot 100, Ranking #5 in 2007 and #11 in 2009. In the same year FHM US magazine put her at #4 in their list of "100 Sexiest Women".

Images: Santabanta, Reuters, AP

Source: India Syndicate

PJ Thomas Must Go, Says SC

New Delhi, Mar 3 : The Supreme Court today decided that Central Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas's appointment was illegal.

The apex court pronounced its verdict on a petition challenging the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the head of the country's anti-corruption watchdog, Central Vigilance Commission. The bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. Panicker Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar said the government had ignored the corruption taints on Thomas while appointing him. The bench said the facts of the Palmolein Oil case were not mentioned in Thomas's biodata.

It said that the high-powered committee's recommendation on the appointment of Thomas "does not exist in law". The committee, for whatsoever reason, failed to consider relevant material recommending action against Thomas, the bench said.

The court further rejected the government's contention that vigilance clearance given by the CVC in 2008 was the basis for empanelment of Thomas as a candidate for the post of CVC.

"The committee and no government authority focused on the larger issue of institutional integrity of the office of CVC while recommending the name of Thomas," said the SC bench.

The apex court bench said the touchstone for the appointment of the CVC is the institutional integrity as well as the personal integrity of the candidate. It added that all future appointment should not be restricted to civil servants alone but people of impeccable integrity from other fields should also be considered.

In what had turned into a war of words over the past few months, the Court rejected Thomas' contention that theappointment of the CVC cannot be brought under judicial review. The SC said the legality of the recommendation can be brought under judicial review.

According to the petition filed in the Supreme Court, Thomas was facing a criminal charge sheet in a case related to palm oil import in Kerala and he was not an "outstanding civil servant of impeccable integrity".

The court indicated that it may lay further guidelines for making the appointment of the CVC more transparent and making the selection process more criterion based.

Chief Justice Kapadia said that he did not want that the matter (of the CVC's appointment) to come back to the court again and again.

The court also suggested that it may speak about the criterion for the preparation of a panel of three candidates for appointment as the CVC.

The petitioner argued that the moment the process of selecting the panel is initiated by the department of personnel and training, the service details of the civil servants under consideration, including their stint in their cadre states, should be taken into account and not just their brief bio-data of their posting in the central government.

Source: IANS/India Syndicate

Air Staff Claim Aliens Spoke To Them

Russian flight controllers claim aliens spoke to them in 'cat-like language'

London, Mar 3 : Air traffic controllers in Siberia claim to have been buzzed by a high-speed UFO with a female sounding alien speaking to them in an unintelligible cat-like language.

The object had suddenly burst onto flight monitors over the remote Russian diamond capital of Yakutsk, and it was shown flying at a speed of slightly over 6000 mph, and rapidly changing direction.

The UFO was logged at a height of 64, 895 feet above sea level and appeared to interfere with aviation frequencies.

A YouTube footage showed an air traffic controller trying to make contact with the UFO, while a radar showed the UFO moving rapidly through the skies surrounded by planes that were travelling at a much slower pace.

"I kept hearing some female voice, as if a woman was saying mioaw-mioaw all the time," the Daily Mail quoted the air traffic controller as telling the pilot of a passing Aeroflot flight.

The air traffic control monitor automatically designated the UFO as "00000" because it did not have a flight number.

At one point the UFO is shown moving away from Yakutsk at great speed before turning and heading back towards the city.

Meet Bollywood's Sexy New Heroine

Puja Gupta

By Rajul Hegde

Mumbai, Mar 3 : Miss India Universe 2007 Puja Gupta will be making her debut with F.A.L.T.U, co-starring Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Jackky Bhagnani and Angad Bedi. The film has been directed by choreographer-turned-director Remo D'Souza, and produced by Jackky's father Vashu Bhagnani.

The sexy model talks to Rajul Hegde about her Bollywood debut, and why it took so long to happen.

Why did you wait so long to make your Bollywood debut?

I was working on spreading AIDS awareness with people like Ashley Judd and (U2 frontman) Bono. I was giving auditions meanwhile as well.

'I had absolutely no idea about what was happening on the first day of the shoot'

How did you bag a role in F.A.L.T.U.?

It's actually a funny story. I had no idea about auditions for F.A.L.T.U. Jackky saw me at a dinner party, and thought I was perfect for the role. We didn't even know each other then. He went ahead and spoke with Remo sir about me. Remo sir contacted (photographer) Atul Kasbekar, who told me who Jackky was, and about F.A.L.T.U.

I went for an audition, and spoke to Jackky for the first time. Later, when the shoot started, Remo sir told me that the day he saw me, he had decided that I should be in the film.

Were you nervous on the first day of shooting?

Oh yes! I had absolutely no idea about what was happening. It was evident from my face that I was nervous and Remo sir realised it. He took me for a walk to soothe me down. We had a chat, and he told me that I was bound to feel nervous on the first day. He said he was nervous too! His words put me at ease. 

In the first scene that we shot, we were to wait outside the principal's office and plead with the peon to let us into the college.

'The film will be a laugh riot'

Have you taken any acting lessons?

No. But before the shoot, Remo sir took some workshops and explained the characters to us. He took us to colleges and told us to observe students. That proved to be very helpful.

What is your role in the film?

My character Puja has no interest in studies but she wants to do something big in life. Her father wants her to get married and have children. But marriage and kids are a big no-no for me. My character's dream is to become successful and make her father proud.

I promise that the film will be a laugh riot. You will go home with a smile on your face.

How was it working with Riteish, Arshad and Jackky?

They were very supportive and fun to work with. They guided me through the tough scenes.

Did you have any bad days on the sets?

Yes. We shot in Mauritius for 40 days. At times, I would miss my family. But my team made sure to change my bad days into good ones.

'I'm glad I have a mentor like Atul Kasbekar'

Do you have any friends in the industry to guide you?

Atul Kasbekar is a dear friend and has always looked out for me. What I love about him is that if I'm wrong, he doesn't try to be sweet. Instead, he just yells at me.

There are very few people in life who mirrors your bad traits and helps you work in spite of them. I'm glad I have a mentor like Atul Kasbekar in a place like Mumbai.

Choreographer Remo D'Souza is making his Bollywood debut as director with this film. Did you have any apprehensions about working with him?

No. He is a brilliant director. He has won the National Award for his Bengali film, Lal Paharer Kotha. He's a beautiful human being as well. He makes you feel comfortable.

You are a trained in martial arts.

Yes, I have won a couple of tournaments in school but I'm not a qualified black belt.

I'm an ardent follower of Bharat Thakur yoga, as it helps me to stay fit. I was 18 years old when I joined his yoga class in New Delhi. My instructors helped me prepare mentally and physically for the Miss India beauty pageant and since then, I have never skipped yoga.

'I'm too scared of horror films'

Did you always want to act?

Acting happened by chance. I never thought of being an actress. I wanted to represent the country and make my family proud. But yes, after winning the title, many opportunities presented themselves to me, out of which I chose to make a career in movies.

What was your parents' reaction when you told them about modelling, and then acting?

My family is well educated, and placed in the fields of medicine and engineering. When I told my mother and older brother about my plan to enter the Miss India beauty pageant after my graduation, their jaws literally dropped (laughs). After a lot of convincing, my family supported my decision to enter the contest.

What kind of films would you like to do?

I'm too young in the industry to be choosing roles. I'd like to try out everything. Except horror movies because I'm too scared of horror! (laughs).

What next?

I have a three-film deal with Puja films (Vashu Bhagnani's production house).

Six Must-Have iPhone Apps

Finding gems among the three lakh-plus Apple apps can be quite a daunting task. Which is why, we are doing it for you. Every month, we will carry six cool Apple apps that you could make your own. Some are free, and some are paid. But they are fun all the same. Have a good time making the most of them!

NearestWiki

Some people like to hire tour guides when they travel. Others like to walk through galleries and museums to explore on their own.

NearestWiki allows you to get all your cultural information in an augmented reality view.

Say for example that you are in a beautiful temple in Rajasthan. You can hold up your iPhone or iPod Touch vertically to give you an AR view. Then you can tap into all its information through Wikipedia from its history to the beliefs surrounding it.

You no longer need tour guides or a guide book. It will also show you the point of interests around your location, so you can skip from temple to statue to monument. You'll find out how far away they are from you in miles as well as a picture and a blurb, so you can visit what most interests you.

Costs $1.99.

CurrencyMap

Money plays a key role when you are travelling to a new place. You want to go to the best place, so your rupees will get you far. And you also want to ensure that you don't go overboard with your travel budget.

Here is where CurrencyMap is just the app for you.

It provides exchange rates in real time on an electronic board. It will also give you current and historical trends in charts for that particular currency fluctuation. You can even click on a particular day and year to find out what the going rate was.

This easy-to-use interface allows you to get over 160 currencies from around the world. You just select the currency to convert and tap in the amount.

You can sort through your favourite currencies, so that you don't have too much clutter on your screen. It will actually help save you tons of money, so that you know you're getting the most for your currency.

The basic version is free, but the Gold version costs $0.99.

Postman

Everyone back home loves receiving post cards. We are used to going to the local kitschy travel shop and picking up generic photos of overtouristy places. Many people would be happier receiving more personalised images of your adventures. That's why with the Postman app, you can create your own professional virtual postcard from your own photos.

Environmentalists can embrace this as well since your waste of paper is down to nil. Eco-friendly and more personal, these can be spiced up in various ways. You can pick a photo from your library or use a Google Maps shot of your current location.

You'll get to add a greeting on the top of your photo and pick your own colour theme to go with it.

Friends that use Facebook, Twitter, Email, and Tumblr will get instant access. You don't have to worry about the post card not arriving at home or finding a post office in the busy streets of India.

Costs $2.99.

BackToMyCar

If you are in a new city and have hired your own car, this app comes in handy. We have all had that experience when we park our cars in some unknown garage or remote location and then forget where it is, once we come back out.

This application will guide you with turn-by-turn walking directions to your car. The compass is great for rural areas so that you do not get lost. Some of the best locations that this can be useful for are airports, stadiums, and shopping malls.

Once you load the application, it will pull up a map with your location. The buttons that appear will enable you to lock in your car's location, zoom in and out, and eventually locate your car. You must be outside for it to actually work.

It also has a parking timer so that you can avoid any parking tickets. And it works even when the app is closed.

But the best part... it's free.

eBuddy

If you get home sick on long bouts of travel, this app could be just for you. eBuddy helps you keep in touch with friends wherever you are.

You can get the most popular instant messengers to your mobile such as Yahoo, MSN, Facebook Chat, AIM, ICQ, and Google Talk. Nothing new, you think? Well, it is because all these messengers appear on one single buddy list and the programme is robust, so there are no frequent downtimes.

The app also allows you to send any image from your phone to your friends. And that can be either through your camera or your phone's memory. The whole process is so quick that your buddies won't even realise, you are chatting from the phone. You are able to type directly into your chat, so it goes through pronto.

The basic version is free, and the pro version costs $ 2.99.

Yoga Trainer Pro

There are plenty of Yoga apps out there, but with over 2.5 lakh downloads and counting, Yoga Trainer Pro figures right on top. Perhaps the secret is keeping things simple.

Yoga Trainer Pro has over 50 different poses with clear photographs and instructions for each and you are able to programme in your own custom sequence or follow lots of preloaded courses.

Unfortunately, a surprising letdown for the app is that you won't find audio instructions guiding you through the steps. This can be frustrating for beginners who will need to interrupt their poses to check the text for more information.

Perhaps we can look forward to this in the next version, and Yoga Trainer Pro will be everything you need.

Costs $1.99.