Evening Standard – Guinness record doesn’t matter says 100-year-old who ran a marathon

27 October 2011

The world’s oldest marathon runner today ridiculed Guinness World Records for refusing to believe he is 100 years old.

Fauja Singh, the “Turbaned Tornado” from Ilford, last week completed the Toronto Marathon in just over eight hours, but his achievement has been overshadowed by Guinness World Record’s refusal to accept his British or Indian passports, nor even a telegram from the Queen on his 100th birthday this year, as sufficient proof of his age.

Likewise, a sworn affidavit from an 84-year-old neighbour in Mr Singh’s fomer village in the Punjab, who recalls that his friend was 16 0r 17 years his senior, has been rejected.

Mr Singh completed his eighth marathon at the grand old age of 100 years, six months and 15 days. He was reported to have made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest runner to finish a marathon, replacing Dimitrion Yordanidis, 98, from Greece.

But editor-in-chief Craig Glenday has refused to ratify the record claiming there is “no evidence.” Mr Singh’s response was: “Guinness who? I had never heard of them. They were uninvited guests to a party and now they’re trying to decide what music is played. I’m angry that they seem to be jumping on the bandwagon. As long as people who witnessed me run are satisfied, that’s all that matters.”

Mr Singh, who started running 11 years ago after the death of his wife and son, has been enlisted as the “new face” of sportswear brand Adidas. His trainer, Harmander Singh, 52, a local magistrate, said: “In India prior to 1927, there was no proper record keeping. If you were born in a village, the town crier would announce the birth and that would be it. If a letter from Her Majesty isn’t enough, what is?”

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24002843-guinness-record-doesnt-matter-says-100-year-old-who-ran-a-marathon.do

The Tribune – A cracker of an eco-friendly measure

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 27. In a measure aimed at protecting the Golden Temple, the SGPC on Wednesday reduced the duration of fireworks to celebrate Bandhi Chhor Diwas and Diwali to 15 minutes. This was half the time compared to previous years. This is for the first time that the SGPC slashed the time of fireworks to minimise the threat of pollution to the shrine.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said, “We had issued instructions to our staff that the fireworks should not exceed 15 minutes and we even warned they would be penalised if they voilated orders. We also ensured that there were no fireworks on the ground. It all took place well in the air and as a result there was minimum possible smoke.” He said they would try to look for some other solution to deal with the pollution in the coming years. “We are concerned about the safety of the Golden Temple and we should take all possible measures to ensure the same.”

“While we are taking measures to reduce the threat of pollution to the Golden Temple, residents continue to burn firecrackers around the shrine. There should be a check on this as it also adds to the pollution in the area,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, in his address to the Sikh community, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh stressed the need to uphold the utmost respect for the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. He said repeated instances of sacrilege of the holy book were a serious challenge for the community. He said such incidents were taking place due to the negligence by gurdwara committees, adding that it should be ensured that those heading these committees are baptised Sikhs.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111028/punjab.htm#3

The Asian Age – Crucial Team Anna meeting tomorrow

New Delhi, 28 October 2011. Key figures of Anna Hazare’s team will meet in Ghaziabad tomorrow sans the Gandhian, who is on a vow of silence, to discuss the crisis facing the team after they were enmeshed in a series of controversies.

Besides Hazare, prominent member Justice Santosh Hegde is also not attending the Core Committee meeting to be held at the office of Arvind Kejriwal-headed Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) in Kaushambi in UP’s Ghaziabad.

The Core Committee meeting comes against the backdrop of a series of allegations against key members like Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi as well as resignation of two prominent activists Rajinder Singh and P V Rajagopal citing the political turn taken by Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.

The meeting also comes amidst a renewed attack on Hazare by Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who alleged that the Gandhian’s anti-corruption agitation as well as that of yoga guru Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravisankar were part of an over-all plan of RSS-BJP to divert attention from right-wing terror. Team Anna has been on the backfoot with Bedi battling charges of overcharging her hosts by inflating travel bills and Kejriwal being accused of depositing donations collected for Hazare agitation against corruption in PCRF as well as its anti-Congress campaign in Hisar bypolls.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, another member, also triggered a controversy by advocating plebiscite in Kashmir, evoking strong opposition from Hazare and other team members. Hazare’s decision yesterday to continue his ‘maun vrat’, which he started on October 16, will mean that he will not attend the Core Committee meeting when his team members were facing attacks and questions of probity.

In a veiled attack on key Team Anna members, Hegde said, “Anna’s strength does not lies in core committee or the people’s honesty in the core committee”. However, he cited a prior commitment in Mumbai for not attending the meet.

Hegde said he was also keeping a watch on the controversy surrounding Kejriwal and Bedi and remarked: “It’s a nice churning and ‘manthan’ is going on…” Former member Rajinder Singh, meanwhile, continued his attack on Team Anna saying Hazare has deviated from his objective and his team is full of “arrogant people in which there is no room for good human beings”.

Describing Bedi and Kejriwal as the “most arrogant members” of Team Anna, Singh said being former bureaucrats they are in the habit of throwing their weight about and imposing themselves on others.

Sources in Team Anna said they will discuss all issues involving the team, including the continuance of Bhushan in the team. Hazare had earlier said the Core Committee will decide on the continuance of Bhushan in the team following his advocacy of plebiscite in Kashmir. The issue came to fore after the lawyer was attacked by right-wing activists in his office.

Interestingly, the Core Committee meeting is being held in Kejriwal’s office while last time, the meeting which took place days after the attack on Bhushan, was held at his Noida residence and was chaired by his father and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan. The issue also resulted in a flip flop by Hazare who changed his stand on Bhushan at least thrice. Initially, he said the committee will decide on Bhushan’s continuance, only to retract in few hours blaming media.

However, he removed the blog posting supporting Bhushan soon and later gave a TV interview only to reiterate his aversion to Bhushan’s views on Kashmir. He followed it up with a blog posting which discussed his views on Kashmir. (PTI)

http://www.asianage.com/india/crucial-team-anna-meeting-tomorrow-984

The Netherlands : Den Haag – Rotterdam – Amsterdam 2 till 12 September 2011

Mostly pictures of gurdwaras, trains and trams taken during my recent visit to the Netherlands

Pictures taken on 8 September in Den Haag and in the Schiphol Airport railway station

Sufi Masjid, Scheepersstraat, Den Haag

On the way to Amsterdam Lelylaan station I had to change at Schiphol Airport
Doubledecker Intercity to Amsterdam Centraal Station

Doubledecker Intercity train to Nijmegen in the east of the Netherlands

Too many Intercity trains to Amsterdam, but I was waiting for a semi-direct that stopped at Lelylaan station

Belgium and Netherlands public transport pictures at :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622685920411/  

More Netherlands pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Jilted lover sets teenaged girl afire

Faridkot, October 27. A youth set a teenaged girl, who had spurned him, on fire in Kotsukhia village of Faridkot today morning. With over 80 per cent burns, the condition of the girl, admitted in the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot, is reported to be critical.

The police have registered an attempt to murder case against Hoshiar Singh, the accused youth in the village.

The victim’s family members told the police that the youth had been stalking her for the last many months but she had spurned his advances which left him infuriated and he took the extreme step.

Today morning at around 9 am, when the father of the girl had already left the house for his work and the girl was in the house with her two sisters, the accused reached the girl’s house with a bottle of kerosene, poured it over her and lit a match. He then fled the spot.

“Minutes after I left home for my work, I got the information that a youth had poured kerosene oil on my daughter and set her on fire”, said the father of the victim.

The girl received 80 per cent burns and was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Kotkapura, but for her condition being highly critical, she was further referred to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot. The police said that they were trying to record the victim’s statement. No arrests have been made so far.

Sources in the village revealed that the accused was stalking the girl for last many months and the girl has spurned his proposal of marriage. (TNS)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111028/punjab.htm#15

Dawn – Pakistan rejects US claims on border fire

Islamabad. Pakistan on Friday rejected US accusations that Pakistani armed forces allow insurgents to fire on American troops across the border in Afghanistan.

“I completely reject this, this is wrong and baseless,” military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

US officials have reported a sharp rise in cross-border attacks against its forces in eastern Afghanistan as relations deteriorated after US forces raided Pakistan to kill the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden, in May.

Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, the deputy US commander in Afghanistan, said that rocket and mortar fire against his forces appears to come from within sight of Pakistani military posts.

“In some locations from time to time you will see what just appears to us to be a collaboration… or at a minimum a looking the other way,” he said.

He said that the border forces come from Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps, who are locally recruited and not as highly trained as army units.

Asked about Scaparrotti’s comments, Abbas told AFP: “I told you, it is not true, all this is wrong.” (AFP)

http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/28/pakistan-rejects-us-claims-on-border-fire.html